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1* 


PRACTICAL  AND  INTERNAL 
BVIDENCS 

AGAIKST 


=M(imi(S-l^m% 


■WITH 

OCCASIONAL  STRICTURES  ON  MR.  BUTLER'S  BOOK  OF 
THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH: 

IS7  SIX  IiZSTTEXlS, 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  IMPARTIAL 

AMONG  THE 

31^  Oman  oratfjolicss  of  ^rcat  Britain  ^  Xttlanti. 


BY  THE 

REV.  JOSEPH  BLANCO  WHITE,  M.A.  B.D. 

in  the  University  of  Seville;  Licentiate  of  Divinity  in  the  University 
of  Osuna;  formerly  Chaplain  Magistral  (Preacher)  to  the  King 
of  Spain,  in  the  Royal  Chapel  at  Seville;  Felloiv,  and  once  Rector, 
of  the  College  of  St.  Mary  a  Jesu  of  the  same  totvn;  Synodal  Ex- 
aminer of  the  Diocess  of  Cadiz;  Member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Belles- Lettres,  of  Seville,  &c.  &c.;  noiv  a  Clergyman  oftlie  Church 
of  England: — Author  o/Doblado's  Letters  from  Spain. 


Ea  dicam,  quse  mihi  sunt  in  promptu;  quod  ista  ipsa  de  re  multSm 
„et  diu  cogitavi.  CicerOc 


FIRST  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


©^eorgetoton,  HB*  (t. 

PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  JAMBS  C.  DUNN. 

1826. 


TO  THE 

REV.  EDWARD  COPLESTON,  D.D. 

Provost  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford;  Prehendary  of 
Rochester,  <J*c.  <^'c,  <^c. 

MY  DEAR  SIR, 

You  have  allowed  me  to  inscribe  this  work  to 
you,  and  I  feel  proud  thus  to  associate  it  with 
your  name  before  the  public. 

As  the  subject,  however,  on  which  I  have  ven- 
tured, is  one  which  violently  agitates  men's  minds 
at  this  moment,  it  would  be  selfish  and  ungrate- 
ful in  me,  if,  while  I  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  an  ifh- 
plied  approbation  from  an  authority  so  highly  and 
so  deservedly  respected,  I  were  not  as  anxious  to 
save  you  from  misrepresentation,  as  I  am  with 
regard  to  myself.  To  conceal  that,  upon  the 
view  of  part  of  my  manuscript,  you  have,  with 
the  greatest  kindness,  encouraged  me  to  proceed; 
would  require  a  degree  of  self-denial  at  which  I 
shall  never  aim.  But  the  hurry  in  which,  from 
the  pressure  of  other  literary  engagements,  I  have 
been  obliged  to  prepare  the  ensuing  pages,  pre- 


1\ 


vented  my  having  the  same  advantage  for  the 
whole  of  the  work^  and  that  circumstance  mars 
the  pleasure  which  I  should  have  derived  from 
your  complete  sanction. 

Disappointed  of  that  satisfaction,  I  am  happy 
that  another  is  left  me  in  the  similarity  of  our 
views,  as  to  what  is  called  the  Catholic  Question. 
From  the  friendly  intercourse  with  which  you 
have  honoured  me,  I  know  that  you  hold  it  wrong 
to  put  dosvn  religious  error  hy  force,  or  to  pro- 
pagate religious  truth  hy  degrading  and  brand- 
ing those  who  do  not  think  with  lis. — I  have  suf- 
fered too  mucli  from  religious  despotism,  not  ful- 
ly and  cordially  to  hold  the  same  doctrine.  The 
fetters  which,  hy  God's  mercy,  I  have  been  ena- 
bled to  break,  I  would  rather  die  than  help  to  ri- 
vet upon  a  fellow- Christian:  but  the  Power  which 
made  me  groan  in  protracted  bondage,  is  striving 
to  obtain  a  direct  influence  in  this  Government; 
and  I  cannot  regard  such  efforts  with  apathy.  For 
myself — tlianks  to  the  generous  country  ^^  hicli  has 
adopted  me — I  iiave  nothing  to  fear;  but  I  deem 
it  a  debt  of  gi-atitudc  to  volunteer  my  testimony 
in  the  great  pending  cause,  that  it  may  be  weigh- 
ed against  the  studied  and  coloin'od  evidence  af 


such  w Titers,  as  would  disguise  the  true  charac- 
ter of  the  spiritual  tyranny,  whose  fierce  grasp 
I  have  eluded.  Indeed  I  would  never  have 
shown  myself  in  the  field  of  controversy,  but  for 
the  appearance  of  a  book  evidently  intended  to 
divert  the  public  from  the  important,  and,  to  me, 
indubitable  fact,  that  sincere  Roman  Catholics 
cannot  conscientiously  be  tolerant  How  far, 
my  dear  Sir,  you  are  convinced  of  this,  I  cannot 
take  upon  myself  to  say;  but  I  am  sure  you  will 
allow,  that  if  such  be  the  real  cliaracter  of  Ca- 
tholicism, the  only  security  of  Toleration  must 
be  a  certain  degree  of  intolerance,  in  regard  to 
its  enemies;  as  prisons  in  the  freest  governments 
are  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  freedom. 

I  liave  thus  far  thought  it  necessary  to  touch 
upon  the  political  question  with  which  my  work 
is  indirectly  connected.  I  say  indirectly,  because 
the  parliamentary  question  about  the  claims  of 
the  Roman  Catholics  is  by  no  means  the  object 
which  I  have  had  in  view  while  writing.  I  will 
not  deny  that  I  should  be  glad  if  my  humble  per- 
formance could  throw  any  light  on  a  question  in 
which  the  welfare  of  this  country  is  so  deeply  con- 
cerned; but  it  is  probable  that  it  will  not  appear 


VI 


till  after  the  decision  of  Parliament.  Let  this, 
however,  he  as  it  may,  still  I  humhly  hope  that, 
whether  the  Roman  Catholics  are  admitted  into 
Parliament,  or  allowed  to  continue  under  the  dis- 
abilities which  their  honest  opponents  lament,  my 
labour  w  ill  not  have  been  thrown  away.  For  as 
the  danger  which  may  threaten  this  country  in 
the  admission  of  Roman  Catholic  legislators,  de- 
pends entirely  upon  their  religious  sincerity;  I 
shall  not  have  troubled  the  public  in  vain  if,  ei* 
ther  I  can  convince  the  conscientious  of  the  papal 
communion,  that  a  Roman  Catholic  cannot  ho- 
nestly do  his  duty  as  a  member  of  the  British 
Parliament  without  moral  guilt;  or,  what  I  ar- 
dently wish,  my  arguments  should  open  their 
eyes  to  the  errors  of  their  church. 

A  work  written  with  these  views  cannot,  I 
trust,  however  imperfect  in  the  execution,  be  an 
unworthy  testimony  of  the  great  respect  with 
which  I  am. 

My  dear  sir, 
Your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOSEPH  BLANCO  WHITE. 

Chelsea,  April  30,  1895. 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

The  duthor^s  account  of  himself,         -        -       13 

LETTER  IL 

Real  and  jyractical  extent  of  the  authority  of 
the  PopCy  according  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Faith,  Intolerance,  its  natural  consequence,     41 

LETTER  IIL 

Examination  of  the  title  to  infallibility,  spiri- 
tual supremacy,  and  exclusive  salvation, 
claimed  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
Internal  evidence  against  Rome,  in  the  use 
she  has  made  of  her  assumed  prerogative. 
Short  method  of  deter^nining  the  question,       8! 

LETTER  IV. 

Ji  specimen  of  the  unity  exhibited  by  Rome, 
Roman  Catholic  distinction  between  infalli- 
bility in  doctrine  and  liability  to  misconduct. 
Consequences  of  this  distinction,  Roman 
Catholic  unity  and  invariableness  of  Faith, 
a  delusion.     Scriptural  unity  of  Faith,        lOS 


VIU 


LETTER  V. 

Moral  character  of  the  Roman  Church.  Celi- 
bacy*    JS^uiiJieries,  -  -         -  125 

LETTER  VL 

Rome  the  enemy  of  mental  improvement:  the 
direct  tendency  of  her  Prayer-book,  the  Bre- 
viary, to  cherish  credulity  and  adulterate 
Christian  virtue,         -         -         -         -        153 


* 


PRACTICAL  AND   INTERNAL 
EVIDENCE 


AGAINST 


ETC. 


LETTER  I. 


Tlie  Author^s  account  of  himself. 

If  a  man  be  at  any  time  excusable  in  speaking' 
of  himself,  it  must  be  when  he  finds  it  necessary 
to  address  those  to  whom  he  is  unknown.  The 
name  and  designation  of  a  writer  are,  indeed,  suf- 
ficient in  most  cases,  and  even  unnecessary  in 
some,  for  the  purposes  to  which  the  press  is  com- 
monly made  an  instrument;  but  the  occasion  of 
this  address  requires  a  more  intimate  acquaintance 
with  my  personal  circumstances. 

Before  I  proceed,  however,  I  beg  you  to  observe 
the  word  impartial,  by  which  I  have  qualified 
Roman  Catholics»*^From  suci  Rocaaa  Catholics 


14^ 


as  renounce  their  intellectual  rights,  and  leave  the 
trouhle  of  thinking  to  others,  I  cannot  expect  a 
hearing.     To  the  professed  champions,  in  whom 
the  mere  name  of  discussion  kindles  the  keen  spi- 
rit of  controversy,  I  can  say  nothing  which  they 
arc  not  predetermined  to  find  groundless  and  fu- 
tile.    Among  those  who,  bound  to  Catholicism  by 
the  ties  of  blood  and  friendship,  make  consistency 
in  religious  profession  a  point  of  honour,  I  am 
prepared  to  meet  only  with  disdain.      But  there 
must  be  not  a  few,  in  whom  tlie  prepossessions  of 
education  and  parentage  have  failed  to  smother  a 
natural  passion  for  truth,  wliich  all  the  witchery 
of  kindred,  wealth,  and  honour,  cannot  allure  from 
its  object.     To  such,  among  the  British  and  Irish 
Roman  Catholics,  I  direct  these  letters;  for,  tho' 
the  final  result  of  their  religious  inquiries  may  be 
diametrically  opposite  to  that  which  has  separated 
me  from  my  country,  my  kindred,  my  honours, 
emoluments,  and  prospects;  I  trust  that  in  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  myself  they  will  readily  recog- 
nise an  intellectual  temper,  for  which  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  can  prevent  their  feeling  some 
sympathy. 
.1  am  descended  from  an  Irish  family,  whose 


15 


attacliment  to  the  Roman  Catholic  I'cligion  was 
often  proved  by  their  endurance  of  the  persecu- 
tion which,  for  a  long  period,  afflicted  the  mem- 
bers of  their  persuasion  in  Ireland.     My  grand- 
father was  the  eldest  of  three  brothers,  whose  vo- 
luntary banishment  from  their  native  land,  rooted 
out  my  family  from  the  connty  of  Waterford.     A 
considerable  fortune  enabled  my  ancestor  to  set- 
tle at  Seville,  where  he  was  inscribed  on  the  roll 
of  the  privileged  gentry,  and  carried  on  extensive 
business  as  a  merchant.     But  the  love  of  his  na- 
tive land  could  not  be  impaired  by  his  foreign  re- 
sidence; and  as  his  eldest  son  (my  father)  could 
not  but  grow^  attached  to  Spain,  by  reason  of  his 
biiih,  he  sent  him  in  his  childhood  to  Ireland, 
that  he  might  also  cling  to  that  country  by  early 
feelings  of  kindness.     It  was  thus  that  my  father 
combined  in  his  person  the  two  most  powerful  and 
genuine  elements  of  a  religionist — the  unhesita* 
ting  faith  of  persecuting  Spain;  the  impassioned 
belief  of  persecuted  Ireland. 

My  father  Avas  the  first  of  his  kindred  that  mar- 
ried into  a  Spanish  family;  and  his  early  habits 
of  exalted  piety  made  him  choose  a  wife  whom 
few  can  equal  in  religious  sincerity.     I  have  hal- 


16 

Towed  the  pages  of  another  work^>^  with  the  dvsi^ 
yacter  of  my  parents:  yet  affection  would  readily 
ftirnish  me  with  new  portraits,  were  I  not  anxious 
to  get  over  this  preliminary  egotism.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  such  were  the  purity,  the  benevolence, 
the  angelic  piety  of  my  father's  life,  that  at  his 
death,  multitudes  of  people  thronged  the  house  to 
indulge  a  last  view  of  the  dead  body.  Nor  was 
the  wife  of  his  bosom  at  all  behind  him,  either  in 
Jtilness  of  faith  or  sanctity  of  manners.  The  en- 
deavoui^  of  such  parents  to  bring  up  their  chil- 
dren in  conformity  with  their  religious  notions 
may,  therefore,  be  fully  conceived  without  the 
help  of  description. 

No  w  ayw  ardness  of  disposition  appeared  i||iiie 
to  defeat  or  obstruct  their  labours.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  all  the  seeds  of  devotion,  which  had 
been  assidiously  sown  in  my  heart,  sprung  up  as 
it  were  spontaneously.  The  pious  practices,  which 
had  hitherto  been  a  task,  were  now  the  effect  of 
my  own  choice.  I  became  a  constant  attendant 
at  the  Congregation  of  the  Oratory,  where  pious 
young  men,   intended  for  the  Church,  generally 

*  Letters  from  Spain,  by  Don  Leucadio  Doblado.. 


-'V 


i: 


had  their  spiritual  directors.  Dividing  my  time 
between  study  and  devotion,  I  went  through  a 
course  of  philosophy  and  divinity  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Se>  ille;  at  the  end  of  which  I  received  the 
Roman  Catholic  order  of  suh-deacon.  By  that 
time  I  had  obtained  the  degrees  of  Master  of  Arts 
and  Bachelor  of  Divinity.  Being  elected  a  Fel- 
low of  the  College  of  St.  Mary  a  Jesu  of  Seville, 
when  I  was  not  of  sufficient  standing  for  the  su- 
perior degree  of  Licentiate  of  Divinity,^  which 
the  Fellowship  required,  I  took  that  degree  at 
Osuna,  where  the  statutes  demand  no  interval  be- 
tween these  academical  honours.  A  year  had 
scarcely  elapsed  since  I  had  received  priest's  or- 
ders, when,  after  a  public  examination,  in  com- 
petition with  other  candidates,  I  obtained  the 
stall  of  Magistral  or  Preacher,  in  the  chapter  of 
king's  chaplains,  at  Seville.  Placed,  so  young, 
in  a  situation  which  my  predecessor  had  obtained 
after  many  years'  service  as  a  vicar,  in  the  same 

*  Previous  to  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  a  severe 
examination  takes  place,  which  gives  to  the  Licentiate  all  the 
rights,  though  not  the  honours  of  Doctorship.  These  may 
be  obtained  by  a  Licentiate  at  any  time,  by  the  payment  of 
some  fees. 

A  2 


18 


town,  I  conceived  myself  bound  to  devote  my 
Avliole  leisure  to  the  study  of  religion.  I  need  not 
say  that  I  was  fully  conversant  with  the  system 
of  Catholic  Divinity^  for  I  owed  my  preferment 
to  a  public  display  of  theological  knowledge:  yet 
I  wished  to  become  acquainted  with  all  kinds  of 
works  which  might  increase  and  perfect  that 
knowledge. 

My  religious  belief  had  hitherto  been  undis- 
turbed: but  light  clouds  of  doubt  began  now  to 
pass  over  my  mind,  which  the  warmth  of  devo- 
tion soon  dissipated.  Yet  they  would  gather 
again  and  again,  with  an  increased  darkness, 
which  prayer  could  scarcely  dispel. — That  immo- 
rality and  levity  are  always  tlie  source  of  unbe- 
lief, the  experience  of  my  own  case,  and  my  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  many  others,  enable  me 
most  positively  to  deny.  As  to  myself,  I  declare 
most  solemnly  that  my  rejection  of  Christianity 
took  place  at  a  period  when  my  conscience  could 
not  reproach  me  witli  any  open  breach  of  duty, 
but  those  committed  several  yeai's  before:  that 
during  the  transition  from  religious  belief  to  in- 
credulity, the  horror  of  sins  against  the  faith, 
deeply  iipplanted  by  education  in  my  soul,  haunt- 


19 


ed  me  aight  and  day;  and  that  I  exerted  all  tUe 
powers  of  my  mind  to  counteract  the  involuntary 
doubts  which  were  daily  acquiring  an  irresistible 
strength.     In  this  distress,  I  brought  to  remem- 
brance all  the  arguments  for  the  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion,  which  I  had  studied  in  the 
French  apologists.     I  read  other  works  of  the 
same  kind;  and  having  to  preach,  in  the  execution 
of  my  office,  to  the  royal  brigade  of  carabineers, 
"who  came  to  worship  the  body  of  St.  Ferdinand 
preserved  in  the  king's  chapel,  I  chose  the  subject 
of  infidelity,  on  which  I  delivered  an  elaborate 
discourse.^     But  the  fatal  crisis  was  at  hand.^ — 
At  the  end  of  a  year,  from  the  preaching  of  this 
sermon — ^the  confession  is  painful,  indeed,  yet  due 
to  religion  itself — I  was  bordering  on  atheism. 

If  my  case  were  singular,  if  my  knowledge  of 
the  most  enlightened  classes  of  Spain  did  not  fur- 
nish me  with  a  multitude  of  sudden  transitions 
from  sincere  faith  and  piety  to  the  most  outrage- 
ous infidelity,  I  would  submit  to  the  humbling 
conviction,  that  either  weakness  of  judgment  or 
fickleness  of  character,  had  been  the  only  source 

*  This  sermon  was  published  at  Serillej  at  the  expcn.^e 
C'f  the  brigade.. 


^0 


of  my  errors.  But  tlioiigli  I  am  not  at  liberty  to 
mention  individual  cases,  I  do  attest,  from  the 
most  certain  knowledge,  that  the  history  of  my 
o\Mi  mind  is,  with  little  variation,  that  of  a  great 
portion  of  the  Spanish  clergy.  The  fact  is  cer- 
tain: I  make  no  individual  charge:  every  one  who 
comes  within  this  general  description  may  still 
w  ear  the  mask,  w  hich  no  Spaniard  can  throw  off 
without  bidding  an  eternal  farewell  to  his  country. 

Now,  let  us  pause  to  examine  this  moral  phe- 
nomenon: and,  since  I  am  one  of  the  class  which 
exhibits  it,  I  will  proceed  with  the  moral  dissec- 
tion of  myself,  however  unpleasant  the  task  may 
be.  Many,  indeed,  will  dismiss  the  case  with 
the  trite  observation  that  extremes  generally  pro- 
duce their  opposites.  But  an  impartial  mind  will 
not  turn  to  a  common-place  evasion,  to  save  it- 
self the  labour  of  thinking. 

When  I  examine  the  state  of  my  mind  previous 
to  my  rejecting  the  Christian  faith,  I  cannot  re- 
collect any  thing  in  it  but  Avhat  is  in  perfect  ac- 
cordance w  ith  that  form  of  religion  in  which  1 
was  educated.  I  revered  the  Scriptures  as  the 
word  of  God;  but  was  also  persuaded  that  w  ithout 
a  living,  infallible  interpreter,  the  Bible  was  a 


2i 


dead  letter,   which  could  not  convey  its  meaning' 
with  any  certainty.     I  grounded,  therefore,  my 
Christian  faith  upon  the  infallibility  of  the  church. 
No  Roman  Catholic  pretends  to  a  better  founda- 
tion.    *^I  believe  whatever  the  holy  mother  church 
holds  and  believes,"  is  tlie  compendious  creed  of 
©very  member  of  the  Roman  communion.    Had  myv 
doubts  affected  any  particulai'  doctrine,   I  should 
have  clung  to  the  decisions  of  a  church  which 
claims  exemption  from  error;  but  my  first  doubts 
attacked  the  very  basis  of  Catholicism.     I  believe 
that  the  reasoning  which  shook  my  faith  is  not 
new  in  the  vast  field  of  theological  controversy. 
But  I  protest  that,  if  such  be  the  case,  the  coinci- 
dence adds  w  eight  to  the  argument,  for  I  am  pep- 
fiictly  certain  that  it  was  the  spontaneous  sugges- 
tion of  my  own  mind.      I  thought  within  myself 
that  the  certainty  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  had 
uo  better  ground  than  a  fallacy  of  that  kind  which 
is  called  reasoning  in  a  circle;  for  I  believed  the 
infallibility  of  the  church  because  the  Scripture 
said  she  was  infallible;  while  I  had  no  better  proof 
that  the  Scripture  said  so,  than  the  assertion  of 
the  church,  that  she  could  not  mistake  the  Scrip-^ 
ture.     In  vain  did  1  endeavour  to  evade  the  force 


s^ 


f)i'  this  argument;  indeed  I  still  believe  it  unan- 
swerable. Was,  then,  Christianity  notliing  biit 
a  groundless  fabric,  the  world  supported  by  the 
elepliant,  the  elephant  standing  on  the  tortoise? 
Such  was  the  conclusion  to  which  I  was  led  by  a 
system  which  impresses  the  mind  with  the  obscu- 
rity and  insufficiency  of  the  written  word  of  God. 
Why  should  I  consult  the  Scriptures?  My  only 
choice  was  between  revelation  explained  by  the 
church  of  Rome,  and  no  revelation.  Catholics 
who  live  in  Protestant  countries  may,  in  spite  of 
the  direct  tendency  of  their  system,  practically 
perceive  the  unreal  nature  of  this  dilemma.  But 
wherever  the  religion  of  Rome  reigns  absolute, 
there  is  but  one  step  between  it  and  infidelity.  > 

To  describe  the  state  of  my  feelings,  when,  be- 
lieving religion  a  fable,  I  still  found  myself  com- 
pelled daily  to  act  as  a  minister  and  promoter  of 
imposture,  is  certainly  beyond  ray  powers.  Au 
ardent  wish  seized  me  to  fly  from  a  country  where 
the  law  left  me  no  choice  between  death  and  hy- 
pocrisy. But  my  flight  would  have  brought  my 
parents  with  sorrow  to  the  grave;  and  I  thank 
God  that  he  gave  me  a  heart  which,  though  long 
'^^ithout  law,"  was  often,  as  in  this  case,  a  *'law 


5siS 


to  myself.'*  Ten  years,  the  best  of  my  life,  were 
passed  in  this  insufferable  state,  when  the  approach 
of  Buonaparte's  troops  to  Seville  enabled  me  to 
quit  Spain,  without  exciting  suspicion  as  to  the 
real  motive  wliich  tore  me  for  ever  from  every 
thing  I  loved.  I  was  too  well  av>  are  of  the  firm- 
ness of  my  resolutions,  not  to  endure  the  most 
agonizing  pain  when  I  irrevocably  crossed  the 
thresliold  of  my  father's  house,  and  when  his 
bending  figure  disappeared  from  my  eyes,  at  the 
first  winding  of  the  Guadalquivir,  down  which  I 
sailed.  Heaven  knows  that  time  has  not  had 
power  to  heal  the  wounds  which  this  separation 
inflicted  on  my  heart;  but,  such  was  the  misery 
of  my  mental  slavery,  that  not  a  shadow  of  regret 
for  my  determination  to  expatriate  myself,  has 
ever  exasperated  the  evils  inseparable  from  the 
violent  step  by  which  I  obtained  my  freedom. 

Having  described  the  fatal  effects  of  Catholicism 
on  my  mind,  I  will,  with  equal  candour,  relate 
the  changes  oj)ei'ated  upon  it,  by  my  residence  in 
England. 

It  was  the  general  opinion  in  Spain,  that  Pro- 
testants, though  often  adorned  with  moral  vip- 
tiies,  were  totally  deficient  in  true  religious  feel- 


^4 


bigs.  This  was  tlie  opinion  of  Spanish  Cathd* 
lies.  Spanish  nnhclievers,  like  myself,  were 
most  firmly  convinced  that  men,  enlightened  as 
the  English,  could  only  regard  religion  as  a  po- 
litical engine.  Our  greater  acquaintance  with 
French  hooks,  and  with  Frenchmen,  strongly 
supported  us  in  the  idea  that  belief  in  Christiani- 
ty decreased  in  proportion  to  the  progress  of 
knowledge,  in  every  part  of  the  world.  As  to 
myself,  I  declare  that  I  did  not  expect  to  find  a 
sincere  Christian  am(ing  educated  Englishmen. 
Providence,  however,  so  directed  events,  that 
some  of  my  first  acquaintance  in  London  were 
persons  whose  piety  was  adorned  with  every  good 
quality  of  the  heart  and  mind.  It  was  among 
these  excellent  friends,  and  under  the  protection 
of  British  libei^y,  that  the  soreness  and  irritation 
produced  by  ten  years'  endurance  of  the  most 
watcliful  religious  tyranny,  began  to  subside.—- 
I  was  too  much  ashamed  of  being  supposed  a  Ro- 
man Catholic,  to  disguise  the  ciiaracter  of  my  re- 
ligious opinions^  but  tlie  mildness  and  toleration 
wdth  which  my  sentiments  were  received,  made 
me  perceive,  for  the  first  time,  that  a  Christian  is 
not  necessai'ily  a  bigot.    The  mere  throwing  away 


:^5 


the  hated  mask  wliich  the  Inquisition  had  forced 
me  to  wear,  refreshed  my  soul^  and  the  excellent 
man  to  whom,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  ac- 
knowledged my  unhelief  without  fear,  was  able 
to  perceive  that  I  might  yet  be  a  Christian,  pro- 
vided I  saw  religion  divested  of  all  foi'ce  but  that 
of  persuasion. 

An  accident  (if  any  thing  which  leads  to  results 
so  important,  can  be  so  called,)  made  me,  in  an 
idle  moment,  look  into  Paley's  Natural  Theology, 
which  lay  upon  a  table.  I  was  struck  by  the 
author's  peculiar  manner  aud  style:  I  borrowed 
the  book,  and  read  it  with  great  interest.  Feel- 
ings of  piety  towards  the  great  author  of  Nature 
began  to  thaw  the  unnatural  frost  wiiioh  misery, 
inflicted  in  his  name,  had  produced  in  a  heart  not 
formed  to  be  ungrateful.  It  w  as  in  this  state  of 
mind  that,  being  desirous  of  seeing  every  thing 
worthy  of  observation  in  England,  I  w^ent  one 
Sunday  to  St.  James's  church.  A  foreigner,  ig- 
norant of  the  language,  would  have  brought  away 
nothing  but  an  unpleasant  recollection  of  the 
length  of  the  service;  but  I  had  learnt  English 
in  my  childhood,  and  could  understand  it,  at  this 

time,  without  difficulty.     The  prayers,  though 
B 


36 


CDntaining  what  I  did  not  believe,  appeared  to 
me  solemn  and  affecting.  I  had  not  for  many 
years  entered  a  church  without  feelings  of  irrita- 
tion and  hostility,  arising  from  the  ideas  of  op- 
pressive tyranny  which  it  called  up  in  my  mind; 
but  here  was  nothing  that  could  check  sympathy, 
or  smother  the  reviving  sentiments  of  natural  re- 
ligion, which  Paley  had  awakened.  It  happened 
that,  before  the  sermon,  was  given  Addison's 
beautiful  hymn, 

When  all  thy  mercies,  O  my  God  I 

My  rising  soul  surveys, 
Transported  with  the  view,  I'm  lost 

In  wonder,  love  and  praise. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  verse,  my  eyes  wer*; 
streaming  with  tears;  and  I  believe  that  from 
that  day,  I  never  passed  one  without  some  ardent 
aspirations  towards  tlie  author  of  my  life  and  ex- 
istence. 

This  was  all  the  change  that  for  a  year  or  more, 
took  place  in  my  religious  notions.  Obliged  to 
support  myself  chiefly  by  my  pen,  and  anxious  at 
the  same  time  to  acquire  some  branches  of  learn- 
ing which  Spanish  education  neglects,  my  days 


S7 


and  nights  were  employed  in  study:  yet  religion 
had  daily  some  share  of  my  attention.  I  learnt 
that  the  author  of  the  Natural  Theology  had  also 
written  a  work  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity, 
and  curiosity  lead  me  to  read  it.  His  arguments 
appeared  to  me  very  strong;  but  I  found  an  in- 
trinsic incredibility  in  tlie  facts  of  revealed  his- 
tory, which  no  general  evidence  seemed  able  to 
l^emove.  I  was  indeed  labouring  under  what  I 
believe  to  be  a  very  common  error  in  this  matter — 
an  error  which  I  have  not  been  able  completely  to 
correct,  without  a  very  long  study  of  the  subject 
and  myself.  I  expected  that  general  evidence 
would  remove  the  natural  inverisimilitude  of  mi- 
raculous events:  that,  being  convinced  by  unan- 
swerable arguments  that  Christ  and  his  disciple^ 
could  be  neither  impostors  nor  enthusiasts,  and 
that  the  narrative  of  their  ministry  is  genuine 
and  true,  the  imagination  would  not  shrink  from 
forms  of  things  so  dissimilar  to  its  own  represen- 
tations of  real  objects,  and  so  conformable  in  ap- 
pearance with  the  tricks  of  jugglers  and  impos- 
tors. Now  the  fact  is,  that  probable  and  likelt/f 
though  used  as  synonimous  in  common  language, 
are  perfectly  distinct  in  philosophy.     The  preba- 


/V/ 


S8 


ble  is  that  for  the  reality  of  which  we  can  allege 
some  reason:  the  likely y  that  which  bears  in  its 
face  a  semblance  or  analogy  to  what  is  classed  in 
our  minds  under  the  predicament  of  existence.^ 
This  association  is  made  early  in  life,  among 
Christians,  in  favour  of  the  miraculous  events 
recorded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and,  if  not  bro-^ 
ken  by  infidelity  in  after-life,  the  study  of  the  Gos- 
pel evidence  gives  those  events  a  character  of 
reality  which  leaves  the  mind  satisfied  and  at  rest^ 
because  it  finds  the  history  of  revealed  religion 
not  only  probable,  but  likely*  It  is  much  other- 
wise w  ith  a  man  who  rejects  the  Gospel  for  a 
considerable  period,  and  accustoms  his  mind  to 
rank  the  supernatural  works  recorded  by  Reve- 
lation, with  falsehood  and  imposture.      Likeli- 


*  Likely  is  the  adjective  of  the  phrase  like  the  truths  simile 
vero.  It  is  strange  that  the  English  language  should  not 
possess  a  substantive  answering  to  le  vraisemblable  of  the 
French.  The  use  of  improbable  to  denote  what  in  that  lan- 
guage is  meant  by  invraisemblabhf  is  incorrect.  When  the 
French  critics  reject  some  indubitable  historical  facts  from 
the  stage,  because  they  want  vraisemblance  (likehhood),  they 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  they  are  iynprobable,  or  deficient  in 
proofs  of  their  reality;  but  that  the  imagination  finds  them 
•unlike  to  what  in  the  common  opinion  is  held  to  be  the  usual 
course  of  events. 


29 


hood,  in  this  case,  becomes  the  strongest  ground 
of  unbelief;  and  probability,  though  it  may  con- 
vince the  understanding,  has  but  little  influence 
over  the  imagination. 

A  sceptic  who  yields  to  the  powerful  proofs  of 
Revelation,  will,  for  a  long  time,  experience  a 
most  painful  discordance  between  his  judgment 
and  the  associations  which  unbelief  has  produc- 
ed. When  most  earnest  in  the  contemplation  of 
Christian  truth,  when  endeavouring  to  bring 
home  its  comforts  to  the  heart,  the  imagination 
will  suddenly  revolt,  and  cast  the  whole,  at  a 
sweep,  among  the  rejected  notions.  This  is,  in- 
deed, a  natural  consequence  of  infidebty,  which 
mere  reasoning  is  not  able  to  remove.  Nothing 
but  humble  prayer  can,  indeed,  obtain  that  faith 
which,  when  reason  and  sound  judgment  have  led 
us  to  supernatural  truth,  gives  to  unseen  tilings 
the  body  and  substance  of  reality.  But  of  this  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  again. 

The  degree  of  conviction  produced  by  Paley's 
Evidences  was,  however,  sufficiently  powerful  to 
make  me  pray  daily  for  divine  assistance.  Thi^ 
was  done  in  a  very  simple  manner.  Every  morn- 
ing I  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer  seriously  and 
B2 


80 


attentively,  offering  np  to  my  Maker  a  sincere 
desire  of  the  true  knowledge  of  him.  This  prac- 
tice I  continued  three  years;  my  persuasion  that 
Christianity  was  not  one  and  the  same  thing  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  gi'owing  stronger 
all  the  while.  As  my  rejection  of  revealed  reli- 
gion had  been  the  effect^  not  of  dii*ect  objection  to 
its  evidences,  butof  weighing  tenets  against  them, 
which  they  were  not  intended  to  support;  the  ba- 
lance inclined  in  favour  of  the  truth  of  the  Gos- 
pel, in  proportion  as  I  struck  out  dogmas,  which 
I  had  been  taught  to  identify  with  the  docti'ines 
of  Christ.  =^  The  day  arrived,  at  length,  when 
convinced  of  the  substantial  truth  of  Christianity, 


*  Paley,  with  his  usual  penetration,  has  pointed  out^this 
most  important  result  of  the  Reformation:  "When  the  doc- 
trine of  Transubstantiation  (he  says  in  his  address  to  Dr.  Law, 
Bishop  of  Carlisle,  prefixed  to  the  Principles  of  Moral  Phi- 
losophy) had  taken  possession  of  the  Christian  world,  it  was 
not  without  the  industry  of  learned  men  that  it  came  at 
length  to  be  discovered  that  no  such  doctrine  was  contained 
In  the  New  Testament.  But  had  those  excellent  persons 
done  nothing  more  by  their  discovery  than  abolished  an  in- 
nocent superstition,  or  changed  some  directions  in  the  cere- 
monial of  public  worship,  they  had  merited  little  of  that  ve- 
Xieration  with  which  the  gratitude  of  Protestant  churches 
remembers  their  services*.  What  they  did  for  mankind  waa 
Xh^s-^they  exonerated  Christianity  of  a  -weight  that  sunk  itx" 


31 


no  question  remained  before  me,  but  that  of  choo- 
sing the  form  under  which  I  was  to  profess  it.— 
The  deliberation  which  preceded  this  choice  was 
one  of  no  great  difficulty  to  me.  The  points  of 
difference  between  the  church  of  England  and 
Rome,  though  important,  are  comparatively  few: 
they  were,  besides,  the  very  points  whidi  had 
produced  my  general  unbelief.  That  the  doc- 
trines common  to  both  churches  were  found  in  the 
Scriptures,  my  early  studies  and  professional 
knowledge,  left  me  no  room  to  doubt;  and  as  the 
Evidences  of  Revelation  had  brought  me  to  ack- 
nowledge the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  I  could 
find  no  objection  to  the  resumption  of  tenets  which 
had  so  long  possessed  my  belief.  The  communion 
in  which  I  was  inclined  to  procure  admission  was 
not,  indeed,  that  in  which  I  was  educated,*  but  I 
had  so  long  wandered  away  from  the  Roman  fold, 
that,  when  approaching  the  church  of  England^ 
both  the  absence  of  what  had  driven  me  from  Ca- 
tholicism, and  the  existence  of  all  the  other  parts 
of  that  system,  made  me  feel  as  if  I  were  return- 
ing to  the  repaired  home  of  my  youth. 

Upon  receiving  the  sacrament  for  the  first  time 
aqcording  to  tlie  form  of  the  English  church, 


S2 


my  early  feelings  of  devotion  revived;  yet  by  no 
means,  as  it  might  be  feared  in  a  common  case, 
with  some  secret  leaning  to  what  I  had  left;  for 
Catholicism  was  thoroughly  blended  with  my 
bitterest  recollections.  It  was  a  devotion  more 
calm  and  more  rational;  if  not  quite  strong  in 
faithj^et  decided  as  to  practice.  The  religious 
act  I,  performed  I  considered  as  a  most  solemn 
engagement  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  Gospel;  and 
I  thank  God,  that  since  that  period,  whatever 
clouds  have  obscured  my  religious  views,  no  de- 
liberate breach  of  the  sacred  law,  has  increased 
the  sting  of  remorse  which  the  unbelieving  part 
of  my  life  left  in  my  breast. 

The  renovated  influence  of  religion,  cherished 
by  meditation  and  study,  induced  me,  after  a  period 
of  a  year  and  a  half,  to  resume  my  priestly  cha- 
racter; a  step  without  which  I  thought  I  had  not 
completed  the  re-acknowledgment  I  owed  to  the 
truth  of  Christianity.  If  any  one  unacquainted 
with  my  circumstances  should  be  inclined  to  sus- 
pect my  motives,  he  may  easily  ascertain  his  mis- 
take, by  inquii^ng  into  the  uniform  tenour  of  my 
conduct  since,  in  1814, 1  subscribed  the  articles  of 
the  church  of  England* 


33 


Having  now  done  what  I  conceived  to  be  a 
public  duty,  I  retired  to  Oxford,  not  to  procure 
admission  into  the  university,  which  my  age 
would  have  rendered  preposterous;  but  to  live 
privately  in  that  great  seat  of  learning,  devoting 
my  time  exclusively  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures. 
I  had  resided  a  year  in  that  place,  when  an  En- 
glish nobleman,  who  since  he  knew  me  in  Spain 
has  ever  honoured  mc  with  his  friendship,  gave 
me  the  highest  proof  of  esteem  by  inviting  me  to 
become  tutor  to  his  son.  I  accepted  the  charge, 
though  with  fears  that  the  declining  state  of  my 
health  would  greatly  disqualify  me  for  the  im- 
portant duties  to  which  I  was  called;  and  which  I 
discharged  for  two  years  to  the  best  of  my  power, 
till  my  growing  infirmities  compelled  me  to  resign. 

Neither  the  duties  of  the  tutorship,  nor  the  con- 
tinual sufferings  which  I  have  endured  ever  since, 
could  damp  my  eagerness  in  the  search  of  religious 
truth.  Shall  I  be  suspected  of  cant  in  this  de- 
claration? Alas!  let  the  confession  which  I  am 
going  to  make,  be  the  unquestionable,  though  me- 
lancholy proof  of  my  sincerity. 

For  more  than  three  years  my  studies  in  divinity 
were  to  me  a  source  of  increasing  attachment  to. 


34 


Christian  faith  and  practice.  When  I  quitted  my 
eharge  as  tutoi",  I  had  begun  a  series  of  short 
lectures  on  religion,  the  first  part  of  which  I  de- 
livered to  the  young  members  of  the  family.* 
Having  retired  to  private  lodgings  in  London,  it 
was  my  intention  to  prosecute  that  work  for  the 
benefit  of  young  persons;  but  there  was  by  this 
time  a  mental  phenomenon  ready  to  appear  in  me, 
to  which  I  cannot  now  look  back  without  a  strong 
sense  of  my  own  w  eakness.  My  vehement  desire 
of  knowledge  not  allowing  me  to  neglect  any  op- 
portunity of  reading  w  hatever  books  on  divinity 
came  to  my  hands,  I  studied  the  small  work  on  the 
Atonement,  by  Taylor  of  Norw  ich.  The  confirm- 
ed habits  of  my  mind  w  ere  too  much  in  accordance 
w  ith  every  thing  that  promised  to  remove  imjstery 
from  Cliristianity,  and  I  adopted  Taylor's  views 
without  in  the  least  suspecting  the  consequences. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  1  found  myself 
beset  w  ith  great  doubts  on  the  divinity  of  Christ 
My  state  became  now  exceedingly  painful;  for, 
though  greatly  wanting  religious  comfort  in  the 

*  These  Lectures  were  published  at  Oxford,  in  1817,  with 
the  title  of  Preparatory  Observations  on  the  Studt 
OF  Religion,  by  a  Clergtma??  of  the  cHrncH  of  Engiaxp. 


35 


solitude  of  a  sick  room,  where  I  was  a  prey  to  pain 
and  extreme  weakness,  I  perceiA  ed  that  religious 
practices  had  lost  their  power  of  soothing  me. 
But  no  danger  or  suffering  has,  in  the  course  of 
my  life,  deterred  me  from  the  pursuit  of  truth. 
Having  now  suspected  that  it  might  he  found  in 
the  Unitarian  system,  I  boldly  set  out  upon  the 
search;  but  there  I  did  not  find  it.  Wliatever  in- 
dustry and  attention  could  do,  all  was  performed 
with  candour  and  earnestness;  but,  in  length  of 
time,  Christianity,  in  the  light  of  Unitarianism, 
appeared  to  me  a  mighty  work  to  little  purpose; 
and  I  lost  all  hope  of  quieting  my  mind.  With 
doubts  unsatisfied  wherever  I  turned,  I  found  my- 
self rapidly  sliding  into  the  gulf  of  Scepticism:  but 
it  pleased  God  to  prevent  my  complete  relapse. 
I  knew  too  well  the  map  of  infidelity  to  be  deluded 
a  second  time  by  the  hope  of  finding  a  resting- 
place  to  the  sole  of  my  foot,  throughout  its  wide 
domains :  and  now  I  took  and  kept  a  determination 
to  give  my  mind  some  rest  from  the  studies,  which, 
owing  to  my  peculiar  circumstances,  had  evidently 
occasioned  the  moral  fever  under  which  I  labour- 
ed. What  was  the  real  state  of  my  faith  in  this 
period  of  darkness,  God  alone  can  judge.     This 


36 


only  can  I  state  with  confidence, — that  I  prayed 
daily  for  light;  that  I  invariably  considered  my- 
self bound  to  obey  tlie  precepts  of  the  Gospel;  and 
that,  when  harassed  with  fresh  doubts,  and  tempt- 
ed to  turn  away  from  Christ,  I  often  repeated  from 
my  heart  the  affecting  exclamation  of  the  apostle 
Peter — *^to  whom  shall  I  go?  thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life." 

For  some  time  I  thought  it  an  act  of  criminal 
insincerity  to  approach,  with  these  doubts,  the 
sacramental  table,  but  the  consciousness  that  it 
was  not  in  my  power  to  alter  my  state  of  mind, 
and  that,  if  death,  as  it  appeared  very  probable, 
should  overtake  me  as  I  w  as,  I  could  only  throw 
myself  with  all  my  doubts  upon  the  mercy  of  my 
Maker!  induced  me  to  do  the  same  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  most  solemn  act  of  religion.  But 
I  had  not  often  to  undergo  this  awful  trial.  Ob- 
jections w  hich,  during  this  struggle,  had  appeared 
to  me  unanswerable,  began  gradually  to  lose  their 
weight  on  my  mind.  The  Christian  Evidences 
which,  at  the  period  of  my  change  from  infidelity, 
struck  me  as  powerful  in  detail,  now  presenting 
themselves  collectively,  acquired  a  strength  which 
no  detached  difficulties  (and  all  the  arguments  of 


I 


37 


infidelity  are  so)  could  shake.*  My  mind,  iu 
fact,  found  rest  in  that  kind  of  conviction  which 
belongs  peculiarly  to  moral  subjects,  and  seeniB 
to  depend  on  an  intuitive  perception  of  the  truth 
through  broken  clouds  of  doubt,  which  it  is  not 
in  the  power  of  mortal  man  completely  to  dispel. 
Let  no  one  suppose  that  I  allude  to  either  mys- 
terious or  enthusiastic  feelings;  I  speak  of  con- 
viction arising  from  examination.  But  any  man, 
accustomed  to  observe  the  workings  of  the  mind, 
will  agree,  that  conviction,  in  intricate  moral 
questions,  comes  finally  in  the  shape  of  internal 
feeling — a  perception  perfectly  distinct  from  syllo- 
gistic conviction,  but  which  exerts  the  strongest 
power  over  our  moral  nature.  Such  perception  of 
the  truth  is,  indeed,  the  spring  of  our  most  im- 
portant actions,  the  common  bond  of  social  life, 
the  ground  of  retributive  justice,  the  parent  of  all 
human  laws.     Yet,  it  is  inseparable  from  more  or 


*  I  believe  it  a  duty  to  mention  a  work  which,  under  Provi- 
dence, contributed  to  put  an  end  to  my  trial,  I  mean  the  /n- 
ternal  Evidences  of  Christianity ^  by  the  Rev.  John  Bird  Sum- 
ner;— a  book  which  I  would  strongly  recommend  to  every 
candid  inquirer  into  religious  truth,  as  containing  one  of  the 
most  luminous  views,  not  only  of  the  proofs,  but  the  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel,  which  it  was  ever  my  good  fortune  to  peruse. 

c 


38 


less  doubt;  for  dmMess  conviction  is  only  to  be 
found  about  objects  of  sense,  or  those  abstract 
creations  of  the  mind,  pure  number  and  dimen- 
sion, which  employ  the  ingenuity  of  mathemati- 
cians. That  assurance  respecting  things  not 
seen,  which  the  Scriptures  call  Faith,  is  a  super - 
natui'al  gift,  which  reasoning  can  never  produce. 
This  difference  between  the  conviction  resulting 
from  the  examination  of  the  Christian  Evidences, 
and  Faith,  in  the  Scriptural  sense  of  the  word, 
appears  to  me  of  vital  importance,  and  much  to 
be  attended  to  by  such  as,  having  renounced  the 
Gospel,  are  yet  disposed  to  give  a  candid  hear- 
ing to  its  advocates.  The  power  of  the  Christian 
Evidences,  is  that  of  leading  any  considerate 
mind,  unobstructed  by  prejudice,  to  the  records 
of  Revelation,  and  making  it  ready  to  derive  in- 
struction from  that  source  of  supernatural  truth; 
4?ut  it  is  the  Spirit  of  truth  alone,  that  can  impart 
the  internal  conviction  of  Faith. 

I  have  now  gone  through  the  religious  history 
of  my  mind,  hi  which  I  request  you  to  notice  the 
result  of  my  various  situations.  Under  the  in- 
fluence of  that  mental  despotism,  which  would 
prevent  investigation  by  the  fear  of  eternal  ruin. 


39 


ur  which  mocks  reason  by  granting  the  examina- 
tion of  premises,  while  it  reserves  to  itself  the 
right  of  drawing  conclusions;  I  was  irresistibly 
urged  into  a  denial  of  Revelation:  but  no  sooner 
did  I  obtain  freedom  than,  instead  of  my  mind 
running  riot  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  long-delayed 
boon,  it  opened  to  conviction,  and  acknowledged 
the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  temper  of  that 
mind  shows,  I  believe,  the  general  character  of 
the  age  to  which  it  belongs.  I  have  been  enabled 
to  make  an  estimate  of  the  moral  and  intellectual 
state  of  Spain,  which  few^  who  know  me  and  that 
country,  will,  I  trust,  be  inclined  to  discredit. 
Upon  the  strength  of  this  knowledge,  I  declare 
again  and  again  that  very  few  among  my  ow  n 
class  (I  comprehend  clergy  and  laity)  think  other- 
wise than  I  did  before  my  removal  to  England. 
The  testimony  of  all  w  ho  frequent  the  Continent — 
a  testimony  which  every  one's  knowledge  of  fo- 
reigners supports — ^I'epresents  all  Catholic  coun- 
tries in  a  similar  condition.  Will  it,  then,  be 
unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  if  a  fair  choice  was 
given  between  the  religion  of  Rome  and  other 
forms  of  Christianity,  many  would,  like  myself, 
embrace  the  Gospel  which  they  have  rejected' 


40 


Is  there  not  some  presumption  of  error  against  a 
system  which  every  where  revolts  an  improving 
age  from  Christianity  ?  Let  us  examine  that  sys- 
tem itself. 


LETTER  11. 

Real  and  practical  extent  of  the  Authority  of  the 
Fope,  according  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Faith. 
Intolerance,  its  natural  consequence* 

Were  I  addressing  Catholics,  who  live  under 
the  full  and  unchecked  influence  of  the  church  of 
Rome,  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  come  to  a  pre- 
vious understanding  of  the  true  nature  of  their 
tenets;  for  even  persons  wlio  have  never  looked 
into  a  theological  treatise,  are  fully  aware,  in 
such  countri\es,  of  the  difference  between  some  dis- 
puted points,  and  the  doctrines  which  their  church 
holds  as  immutable  articles  of  faith.  The  ease 
is,  I  perceive,  much  otherwise  in  England. — 
From  the  attention  which  I  have  of  late  given  to 
the  books  which  issue  out  of  the  English  Roman 
Catholic  press,  I  am  convinced  that  there  exist 
two  kinds  of  WTiters  of  your  persuasion;  one,  who 
write  for  the  Protestant  public,  and  for  such 
among  yourselves  as  cannot  well  digest  the  real 

unsophisticated  system  of  their  Roman  head;  the 
C  2 


43 


other,  for  the  mass  of  their  Britisli  and  Irish 
church,  who  still  adhere  to  the  Roman  Catliolic 
system,  such  as  it  is  professed  in  countries  w  her& 
All  other  religions  are  condemned  hy  law.  In 
your  devotional  books,  and  in  such  works  as  are 
intended  to  keep  up  the  warmth  of  attachment  to 
your  religious  party,  I  recognise  every  feature  of 
the  religion  in  which  I  was  educated,*  in  those  in- 
tended for  the  public  at  large,  I  only  find  a  flat- 
tered and  almost  ideal  portrait  of  those  to  me 
well-known  features,  which,  unchanged  and  un- 
softened  by  age,  the  writers  are  conscious,  can- 
not be  seen  without  disgust  by  any  of  those  to 
whom  custom  has  not  made  them  familiar. 

The  most  artful  picture  of  this  kind  which  has 
come  to  my  hands,  is  the  Book  of  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholic Church,  by  Charles  Butler,  Esquire,  of 
Lincoln's  Inn.  The  high  character  which  the 
author  bears  for  learning  and  probity  makes  me 
desirous  to  avoid  even  the  shadow  of  a  charge  im- 
plying any  thing  derogatory  to  those  qualities; 
but  I  cannot  hesitate  to  declare  that  his  statement 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrines,  since  it  must  be 
believed  to  have  been  di'uwn  with  sincerity,  pre- 
sents a  strange  instance  of  the  power  of  prejudice 


43 


ill  distorting  the  clearest  objects.  In  another 
pai't  of  this  book''^'  you  will  find  a  striking  proof 
that  the  vehemence  of  his  party  spirit  goes  even 
to  impair  his  knowledge  of  the  Latin  language, 
and  makes^  a  man,  whom  report  classes  among 
your  best  scholars,  render  a  passage  into  En- 
glish, in  a  manner  so  far  from  giving  the  mean- 
ing of  the  original,  that  it  contradicts  itself  in  the 
translation. 

Had  such  inaccuracies  affected  only  points  of 
secondary  importance,  or  related  exclusively  to 
the  many  historical  facts  to  which  Mr.  Butler's 
book  refers,  I  would  leave  them  to  more  learned 
and  experienced  critics;  but  as  he  has  besides, 
given  an  incorrect  view  of  your  most  essential 
duties  as  Catholics;  I  must  beg  your  attention  to 
some  remarks  on  that  part  of  his  book  which 
treats  of  the  authority  of  tlie  Pope.  He  that, 
fully  aware  of  the  nature  of  his  engagements  to 
the  Church  of  Rome,  is  still  determined  to  obey 
her,  should  not  be  disturbed  in  the  use  of  his  dis- 
cretion; but  varnished  accounts  of  religious  sys- 
tems must  not  be  allowed  to  rivet  religious  preju- 
dice, or  stand  as  a  lure  to  the  unwary. 
•  See  Note  A. 


44 


The  book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  labours 
to  persuade  the  world  that  the  autliority  of  the 
Pope  over  the  Catholics  is  of  so  spiritual  a  na- 
ture, as,  if  strictly  reduced  to  what  the  creed  of 
that  church  requires,  can  never  interfere  with  the 
ci\il  duties  of  those  who  own  that  authority. — 
That  the  supreme  head  of  the  Catholics  has,  for 
a  long  series  of  centuries,  actually  claimed  a 
paramount  obedience,  and  thus  actually  interfer- 
ed with  the  civil  allegiance  of  his  spiritual  sub- 
jects; is  as  notorious  as  the  existence  of  the  Ro- 
man See.  The  question  then,  is,  whether  this 
was  a  mere  abuse,  the  effect  of  human  passions 
encouraged  by  the  ignorance  of  those  ages,  or  a 
fair  consequence  of  doctrines  held  by  the  Roman 
church  as  of  divine  origin,  and  consequently  im- 
mutable. I  will  proceed  in  this  inquii^y  upon 
Mr.  Butler's  own  statement  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic articles  of  faith,  which  is  found  p.  118  of  the 
first  edition  of  his  work. 

**A  chain  of  Roman  Catholic  ^Titers  on  papal 
power  might  be  supposed :  on  the  first  link  we 
might  place  the  Roman  Catholic  writers  who  have 
immoderately  exalted  the  prerogative  of  the  Pope; 
on  the  last  we  might  place  the  Roman  Catholic 


45 


writers  who  have  unduly  depressed  it:  and  the 
centre  link  might  be  considered  to  represent  the 
canon  of  the  10th  session  of  the  council  of  Florence, 
which  defined  that  ^fuU  power  was  delegated  to 
the  bishop  of  Rome  in  the  person  of  St.  Peter,  to 
feed,  regulate  and  govern  the  universal  church, 
as  expressed  in  the  general  councils  and  holy 
canons.'  This  (adds  the  author,  in  capitals)  ifi 
the  doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
ON  THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  POPE,  and  bcyoud  it 
no  Roman  Catholic  is  required  to  believe.'* 

When  I  examine  the  vague  comprehensiveness 
of  this  decree,  I  can  hardly  conceive  what  else  the 
Roman  Catholics  could  be  required  to  believe. 
Fnll  power  to  feed  f  regulate  and  govern  the  uni" 
Tersal  churchy  can  convey  to  the  mind  of  the 
sincere  Catholic  no  idea  of  limitation.  Whatever 
be  the  extent  of  the  chain  imagined  by  our  author, 
the  decree  appears  to  have  been  framed  wide 
enough  not  to  exclude  the  link  containing  the  wri- 
ters w  ho  have  most  exalted  the  papal  po\^  cr.  The 
task  of  those  on  the  other  extremity  of  the  chain, 
is  certainly  more  difficult;  for  it  cannot  well  be 
conceived  why  mere  human  rights  sliould  be 
allowed  to  limit  a/«/^  power  to  govern  the  minds 


46 


of  men,  derived  from  a  direct  injunction  of  Christ. 
Let  this  be,  however,  as  it  may,  one  thing  is  cer- 
tain, that  a  true  Catholic  may  understand  the  full 
pcnver  of  feedingy  regulating  and  governing  the 
universal  church  according  to  either  the  Trans- 
alpine or  Cisalpine  explanation  of  the  docti^ine 
declared  by  the  council  of  Florence.  He  may 
consequently  believe,  that  the  Pope  has,  <*atthe 
least,  an  indirect  temporal  power  for  effecting  a 
spiritual  good  in  any  kingdom  to  wdiich  the  uni- 
versal church  extends;"  and  ^^that  every  state  is 
so  far  subject  to  the  Pope,  that  wiien  he  deems 
that  the  bad  conduct  of  the  sovereign  renders  it 
essential  to  the  good  of  the  church  that  he  shall 
reign  no  longer,  the  Pope  is  authorised  by  his 
divine  commission  to  deprive  him  of  his  sovereign- 
ty, and  absolve  his  subjects  from  their  obligation 
of  allegiance."^  A  Catholic  may,  on  the  other 
hand,  with  the  divines  of  the  Gallican  church, 
deny  to  the  Pope  this  power  of  deposing  princes. 
Of  these  two  explanations  of  the  infallible  doctrine 
on  the  Pope's  supremacy,  Mr.  Butler  says,  that 
<*neither  speaks  the  church's  faith."     This  is»  in- 

*  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  121.- 


47 


deed,  a  remarkable  fact.  It  is  a  fact  from  whicb 
we  may  infer,  either  that  the  Pope  and  his  church 
do  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  inspiration 
on  which  they. build  the  claim  to  infallibility,  or 
tliat  they  receive  that  inspiration  under  a  kind  of 
political  cipher,  which,  though  laid  before  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  still  leaves  us  in  perfect  ob- 
scurity as  to  its  contents.  Can  any  one  doubt 
that  the  Pope,  in  the  face  of  Christendom,  issued 
a  sentence  of  deposition  against  Queen  Elizabeth? 
Had  not  a  similar  practice  prevailed  for  many 
centuries  before?  Was  this  not  done  by  virtue  of 
what  Popes  conceived  to  be  their  divine  preroga- 
tive, declared  in  the  council  of  Florence?  Did 
not  the  greatest  part  of  the  Catholic  bishops  allow, 
by  their  tacit  or  express  consent,  that  the  head  of 
their  church  was  acting  in  conformity  with  the 
inspired  definition  of  his  power?  Were  I  not  too 
well  acquainted  with  the  extreme  flexibility,  the 
deluding  slipperiness  of  Roman  Catholic  theology, 
I  should -contend  that  the  sense  of  the  council  of 
Florence  had,  on  these  occasions,  been  fixed  by 
infallible  authority;  for  the  Pope  <*may  promul- 
gate definitions  and  formularies  of  faith  to  the 
universal  church,  and  when  the  general  body,  or 


48 


a  great  majority  of  her  prelates  have  absented  to 
them,  either  by  formal  consent  or  tacit  consent,  all 
are  bound  to  acquiesce  in  them."=*  But  alas  for 
those  who  will  not  be  convinced!  ^  The  bulls  of 
deposition,  though  always  prefaced  by  a  declara- 
tion of  doctrine  concerning  the  power  of  the  Ro- 
man see;  tliough  issued  with  all  possible  solemni- 
ty; though  assented  to  by  all  the  bishops,  except, 
perhaps,  a  few  among  the  subjects  of  the  monarch 
so  deposed  and  condemned — these  bulls  will  be 
found  not  to  be  definitions  and  formularies  of 
faith.  Tliey  express  a  doctrine  tolerated  in  the 
church  of  Rome,  but  not  her  faith:  ''this  (says 
Mr.  Butler)  is  contained  in  the  canon  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Florence.  Ml  the  doctrine  of  that  canon  on 
the  -point  in  question,  and  nothing  but  that  doctrine, 
is  propounded  by  the  Roman  Catholic  church  to 
be  believed  by  the  faithful."!  But  will  Mr.  But- 
ler tell  us  how  the  faithful  are  to  ascertain  what 
it  is  this  ALL  contains?  No,  he  certainly  cannot. 
His  church  tolerates  the  opinion  which  in  this 
ALL,  comprehends  the  authority  to  depose  princes; 
nay,  the  Popes  have  acted  according  to  that  opi- 

■*  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  120,  1st  ed. 
I  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  124,  Isted. 


49 

nion,  till  the  consolidation  of  the  European  powers 
tied  their  hands;  but  she  also  tolerates  (the  word 
is  here  in  its  place)  the  opinion  of  those  who  strike 
off  from  that  all,  no  less  a  part  than  the  Pope's 
supremacy  over  the  sovereigns  of  the  earth. 

Little  indeed  has  the  inspiratian  of  the  Floren- 
tine fathers  done  for  you,  who,  sincerely  attached 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  are  desirous  to 
perform  all  your  duty  to  its  head.  You  might 
indeed,  have  expected  that,  former  Popes  having 
unfortunately  increased  the  obscurity  of  tliis  im- 
portant point  of  your  faith  by  their  political  claims, 
those  who  have  filled  the  Roman  see  in  later 
times  would  haA  e  put  an  end  to  these  doubts,  by 
tolerating  no  longer,  but  publicly  and  positively 
disclaiming,  the  doctrines  of  supremacy  embraced 
by  their  predecessors.  Instead  of  allowing  the 
English  and  Irish  Catholics  to  apply  to  Catholic 
universities  for  declarations,  v»hich  these  bodies 
are  not  authorised  to  give,  the  Pope  himself  might 
at  once  have  removed  the  doubt,  as  to  the  obe- 
dience which  he  claims  from  you.  Why,  then,  this 
silence?  why  this  toleration  of  an  opinion  which 
casts  a  suspicion  upon  your  loyality;  which  if 

adopted,  as  you  certainly  mav  adopt  it  so  long  as 
D 


#^ 


50 


it  is  tolerated,  must  more  than  divide  your  alle- 
giance ?     I  think  I  can  explain  the  cause  of  this 
Conduct* 

If  either  of  the  two  systems  concerning  the 
authority  of  the  Pope  were  considered  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  as  absolutely  false,  she 
could  not  tolerate  it  consistently  mth  her  claims 
to  infallibility:  she  must  therefore  believe  them 
both  'partially  true.  This,  however,  could  not  take 
place  if  she  understood  the  council  of  Florence 
(as  Mr.  Butler  contends)  in  a  sense  equally  dis- 
tant from  the  two  exti^eme  theological  opinions. 
If  both  express  partially  her  own  sense,  that 
sense  must  be  broad  enough  to  embrace  a  sub- 
stantial part  of  the  two;  and  such  is  really  the 
case.  The  Transalpine^  divines  regard  the  grant 
supposed  to  have  been  made  by  Christ  to  the  Pope, 
abstractedly  from  the  external  circumstances  of 

•  Transalpine  and  Cisalpine  are  used  here  in  a  very  un- 
classical  sense;  but  as  these  denominations  prevail  among"  Ro- 
aian  Catholic  divines,  I  am  in  a  certain  degree  compelled  to 
use  them.  If  the  reader  imagfines  himself  in  France,  where 
they  were  first  used,  the  mistake  into  which  they  are  apt  to 
lead,  ivill  easily  be  avoided.  Transalpine  writers  are  those 
wko  scarcely  set  any  bounds  to  the  authority  of  the  Pope; 
^^Citalpine  those  who,  with  Bofisuct,  contend  for  the  privileges 
of  the  Gallican  church. 


5t 


the  Roman  church;  and,  considering  that  he  who 
has  full  authority  to  feed  the  flock,  must  also  have 
it  to  preserve  the  pasturage  safe  and  unobstruct- 
ed, assert  that  the  deposition  of  a  heretical  prince 
falls  within  the  divine  prerogative  of  the  head  of 
the  Roman  Catholics.     The  Cisalpine  writers,  on 
the  other  hand,  perceiving  that  the  assertion  of 
this  doctrine,  and  any  attempt  to  put  it  into  prac- 
tice, would  defeat  the  object  of  the  Pope's  autho- 
rity, by  raising  political  opposition  to  the  church; 
deny  that  such  a  specific  power  against  secular 
princes,  was  ever  intended  by  Christ.     The  Ro- 
man see  allows  these  two  opinions  to  be  held,  be- 
cause, as  it  believes  that  the  Pope's  power,  to  be 
fully  must  extend  to  every  act  which  circumstan- 
ces may  make  advantageous  to  the  church;  it  will 
not  restrain  his  hands  in  any  possible  emergency 
from  checking  political  opposition  to  the  prospe- 
rity of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.     But  as  it 
maij  be  true  that  under  the  circumstances  of  the 
civilized  world,  it  will  never  be  expedient  to  call 
upon  Catholics  to  refuse  their  allegiance  to  an 
enemy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  the  Cisal- 
pine opinions,  which  at  first  were  strongly  oppo- 
sed by  Rome,  are  at  present  tolerated. 


5^ 


I  have  hitherto  examined  the  Roman  Catholic- 
doctrine  concerning  the  Pope's  supremacy,  not 
because  I  conceive  it  to  have  any  practical  effect 
in  this  country,  but  in  order  to  expose  the  vague- 
ness, obscurity,  and  doubt  in  which  the  declara- 
tion of  one  of  your  infallible  councils — a  declara- 
tion, too,  relating  to  so  important  a  subject  as  the 
divine  power  of  your  spiritual  head — is  involved. 
The  days,  however,  are  no  more  when  the  Pope, 
in  virtue  of  his  full  power  to  feed,  regulate^  and 
govern  you,  might  endeavour  to  remove  a  Protest- 
ant king  from  the  throne.  Tlie  trial  to  which,  as 
British  subjects  and  Roman  Catholics,  you  are 
still  exposed,  is  perfectly  unconnected  with  the 
teviporal  claims  of  your  ecclesiastical  head;  it 
flows  directly  from  the  spiritual.  Hence  the  con- 
stant efforts  of  your  political  advocates  to  fix  the 
attention  of  the  public  on  the  question  of  temporal 
supremacy,  in  which  they  make  a  show  of  inde- 
pendence. Hence  the  irrelevant  questions  pro- 
posed to  the  Catholic  universities,  which,  as  their 
object  was  known,  gave  ample  scope  to  the  ver- 
satile casuistry  of  those  bodies.  Their  task,  in 
assisting  their  brethren  of  England  and  Ireland, 
would  have  certainly  required  a  greater  degree 


53 


of  ingenuity,  had  the  following  question  been  sub- 
stituted for  the  three  which  were  actually  pro- 
posed:— Can  the  Pope,  in  virUie  of  what  Roman 
Catholics  believe  his  divine  anthontyf  command 
the  assistance  of  the  faithful  in  checking  the  pro- 
gress of  heresy,  by  any  means  not  likely  to  produce 
loss  or  danger  to  the  Roman  Catholic  church;  and 
can  that  church  acknowledge  the  validity  of  any 
engagement  to  disobey  the  Pope  in  S2ich  cases? 
This  is  a  question  of  great  practical  importance 
to  all  sincere  Catholics  in  these  kingdoms.  Al- 
low me,  therefore,  to  canvass  it  according  to  the 
settled  principles  of  your  faith  and  practice,  since 
political  views  prevent  your  own  writers  from 
placing  it  in  its  true  light. 

At  the  time  when  I  am  writing  this,  one  branch 
of  the  legislature  has  declared  itself  favourable  to 
what  is  called  Catholic  emancipation;  and,  for 
any  thing  I  can  conjecture,  Roman  Catholics  may 
be  allowed  to  sit  in  parliament  before  these  Let- 
ters appear  in  public.  A  Roman  Catholic  legis- 
lator of  Protestant  England  would,  indeed,  feel 
the  weight  of  the  difficulty  to  which  my  suggested 
question  alludes,  provided  his  attachment  to  the 

Roman  Catholic  faith  were  sincere.     A  real  Ro- 
D  2 


54 


man  Catholic  once  filled  the  throne  of  tliese 
realms,  under  similar  circumstances;  and  neither 
the  strong  bias  Avhich  a  crown  at  stake  must  have 
given  to  his  mind,  nor  all  the  ingenious  evasions 
proposed  to  him  by  the  ablest  divine  of  tlie  court 
of  Louis  XIV.  could  remove  or  disguise  the  ob- 
stacles which  his  faith  opposed  to  his  political 
duties.  The  source  of  the  religious  scruples 
which  deprived  James  II.  of  his  regal  dignity,  is 
expressed  in  one  of  the  questions  which  he  pro- 
posed to  several  divines  of  his  persuasion.  It 
comprises,  in  a  few  words,  what  every  candid 
mind  must  perceive  to  be  the  true  and  only  diffi- 
culty in  the  admission  of  Roman  Catholics  to  the 
parliament  of  these  kingdoms.  What  James 
doubted  respecting  the  regal  sanction,  a  member 
of  either  house  may  apply  to  tlie  more  limited  in* 
liuence  of  his  vote.  He  asked  *^  Whether  the 
king  could  promise  to  give  his  assent  to  all  the 
laws  which  might  be  proposed  for  the  greater  se- 
curity of  the  church  of  England  ?"  Four  English 
divines,  who  attended  James  in  his  exile,  answer- 
ed without  hesitation  in  the  negative.  The  casu- 
istry of  the  French  court  was  certainly  less  ab- 
I'upt.     Louis  XIV.  observed  to  James,  that  "as 


55 


Ihe  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion  coidd  not  he  re- 
established in  England,  save  by  removing  from  the 
people  the  impression  that  the  king  was  resolved 
to  make  it  triumph,  he  must  dissuade  him  from 
saying  or  doing  any  thing  which  might  authorise 
or  augment  this  fear,^'  The  powerful  talents  of 
Bossiiet  were  engaged  to  support  the  political 
views  of  the  French  monarch.  His  answer  is  a 
striking  specimen  of  casuistic  subtlety.  He  be- 
gins by  establishing  a  distinction  between  adher- 
ing to  the  erroneous  principles  professed  by  a 
church,  and  the  protection  given  to  it  ^  ^ostensibly, 
to  preserve  public  tranq^dlity*''  He  calls  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  by  which  the  Huguenots  were, 
for  a  time,  tolerated,  ^^a  kind  of  protection  to  the 
reformed,  shielding  them  from  the  insults  of  those 
who  would  trouble  them  in  the  exercise  of  their  re- 
ligion. It  never  was  thought  (adds  Bossuet)  that 
the  conscience  of  the  monarch  was  interested  in 
these  concessions,  except  so  far  as  they  7v  ere  judged 
necessary  for  public  tranquility.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  king  of  England;  and  if  he  grant  great- 
er advantages  to  his  Protestant  subjects,  it  is  be- 
cause the  state  in  which  they  are  in  his  kingdoms, 
and  the  object  of  public  repose,  require  it*"    Speak- 


iiig  of  the  Articles,  the  Liturgy,  and  the  Homilies, 
<*it  is  not  asked  (he  says)  that  the  king  should  he- 
come  the  promoter  of  these  three  things,  hut  only 
that  he  shall  ostensibly  leave  them  a  free  cmirse, 
for  the  peace  of  his  subjects.^*  ^^The  Catholics 
(he  concludes)  ought  to  consider  the  state  in  which 
they  are,  and  the  small  portion  they  form  of  the 
population  of  England;  which  obliges  them  not  to 
ask  w  hat  is  impossible  of  their  king,  but  on  the 
contrary,  to  sacrifice  all  the  advantages  witli 
which  they  might  vainly  flatter  themselves,  to  the 
real  and  solid  good  of  having  a  king  of  their  re- 
ligion, and  securing  his  family  on  the  throne, 
though  Catholic;  which  may  lead  them  naturally 
fo  expect,  in  time,  the  entire  establishment  of  their 
church  and  faith.'' ^ 

Such  is  the  utmost  stretch  which  can  be  given 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  principles  in  the  toleration 
of  a  church  which  dissents  from  the  Roman  faith. 
A  conscientious  Roman  Catholic  may,  for  the  sake 
of  public  peace,  and  in  the  hope  of  finally  serving 
the  cause  of  his  church,  ostensibly  give  a  free  course 
to  heresy.     But,  if  it  may  be  done  without  such 

*  See  the  whole  of  Bossuet*s  answer  in  note  B. 


^7 


dangers,  it  is  his  unquestionable  duty  to  under- 
mine a  system  of  which  the  direct  tendency  is,  in 
his  opinion,  the  spirihial  and  final  ruin  of  men. 
Is  there  a  Catholic  divine  who  can  dispute  this 
doctrine?  Is  there  a  learned  and  conscientious 
priest  among  you,  who  would  give  absolution  to 
such  a  person  as,  having  it  in  his  power  so  to  di- 
rect his  votes  and  conduct  in  parliament  as  to  di- 
minish the  influence  of  Protestant  principles, 
without  disturbing  or  alarming  the  country,  would 
still  heartily  and  steadfastly  join  in  promoting  the 
interest  of  the  English  church?  Let  the  question 
be  proposed  to  any  Catholic  university^  and, 
though  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  inexhaustible  re- 
sources of  casuistry,  I  should  not  fear  to  stake  the 
force  of  my  argument  upon  its  honest  and  con- 
I  scientious  answer. 

The  author  of  the  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  rejects  as  a  gratuitous  imputation  what- 
ever is  attributed  to  that  church,  without  the  ex- 
press authority  of  one  of  her  definitions  of  faith. 
I  will  only  remind  those  who  are  well  acquainted 
with  the  Roman  Catholic  system  of  divinity,  that 
in  what  relates  to  moral  and  practical  principles, 
such  references  cannot  fab^lv  be  demanded.     The 


• 


58 


definitions  of  your  church  upon  such  points  are 
very  few.  Some  moral  doctrines  have  been  cen- 
sured as  lax,  some  as  being  of  a  depraving  tend- 
ency; but  the  consciences  of  Catholics  are  guided 
by  the  broad  rules  of  action  acknowledged  by  all 
Christians.  In  the  application  of  these  rules  there 
is,  indeed,  some  variety  of  opinion  among  your 
moralists;  for  as  they  often  dwell  upon  imaginary 
cases,  an  ample  field  is  left  to  ingenuity  for  all  the 
shifts  and  turns  of  expediency.  The  doctrine, 
however,  that  he,  who  being  able  to  prevent  a 
sin  allows  its  commission,  is  guilty  of  that  sin 
and  its  consequences,  requires  no  sanction  from 
Pope  or  council.  No  Christian  will  ever  deny 
this  position;  and  even  a  deist,  if  he  is  to  preserve 
consistency,  will  be  obliged  to  admit  its  justness. 
This  being  so,  it  follows  with  unquestionable  cer- 
tainty  that  a  Roman  Catholic  cannot,  without 
guilt,  lend  his  support  to  a  Protestant  establish- 
ment, but  is  bound,  as  he  wishes  to  saveliis  soul,  to 
miss  no  opportunity  of  checking  the  progress  of 
heresy:  the  most  grievous  of  all  moral  offences, 
according  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  Murder  itself  is  less  sinful,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Roman  see,  than  a  deliberate  separa- 


59 


tion  from  her  communion  and  creed.     I  need  not 
prove  this  to  those  who  are  disposed  to  recognize 
the  Roman  Catholic  doctrines  in  the  face  of  the 
world^  but  if  any  one  still  doubts  the  place  which 
heresy  holds  in  the  Roman  Catholic  scale  of  crim- 
inal guilt,   let  him  explain  away,  if  he  can,  the 
following  passage  of  the  papal  bull  which  is  every 
year  published  in  the  Spanish  dominions,  under 
tlie  title  of  The  Cruzade.     By  that  bull,  every 
person  who  pays  a  small  sum  towards  an  imagi- 
nary war  against  infidels,  is  privileged  to  be  re- 
leased from  all  ecclesiastical  censures  and  receive 
absolution  at  the  hands  of  any  priest,  of  all,  what- 
ever sins,  he  may  have  committed,  **even  of  those 
censures  and  sins  which  are  reserved  to  the  apos- 
tolic see,   the  crime  of  heresy  excepted,***    Is  it 
then  to  cherish,  foment,  and  defend  this  heinous 
crime — ^the  crime  which  the  Pope  exempts  from 
the  easy  and  plenary  remission  granted  to  the 
long  list  of  abominations  left  for  the  ear  of  a 
common  priest — is  it  this  crime,  as  established, 

*  "Que  puedan  elegir  Confesor  Secular  o  Reg^ular,  de  los 
aprobados  por  el  ordinario,  y  obtener  de  el  pknaria  indul- 
gencia,  y  remision  de  qualquiera  pecados  y  censuras,  aun  de 
ios  reservados,  y  reservadas  a  la  Silla  Apostolicftj  ecept©  cl 
crimen  de  heregia.'*   Bula  de  la  Cruzada. 


M' 


60 


honoured,  and  endowed  by  the  law  of  England, 
that  you  are  anxious  to  sanction  with  your  votes 
in  parliament? 

Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  it  were  possible  for 
such  a  state  as  tliat  of  the  Old  Man  of  the  Moun- 
tain or  Prince  of  the  Assassins,  to  have  grown 
into  a  powerful  nation,  and  reduced  a  Christian 
people  under  its  dominion,  without  extinguish- 
ing tlieir  faith :  the  condition  of  these  Christians 
would  have  greatly  differed  at  two  different 
periods.  Before  a  sad  experience  had  convinced 
them  of  the  inadequacy  of  their  power  to  overcome 
those  enemies  of  God  and  man,  they  would  natural- 
ly have  fought  openly  and  manfully  against  the 
assassin  establishment,  or  died  martyrs  in  passive 
resistance.  When  finally  subdued,  two  courses 
alone  would  be  left  open:  either  to  keep  their 
hands  clean  from  blood,  by  declining  all  participa- 
tion in  the  acts  of  the  government,  or  join  it  with 
the  intention  of  checking,  by  indirect  means,  the 
commission  of  an  interminable  series  of  crimes, 
secured  by  the  constitutional  laws  of  the  state.  Is 
there,  I  ask,  any  difference  between  this  case  and 
that  of  real  Roman  Catholics  under  a  Protestant 
government,  whose  very  essence  is  to  maintain  a 


61 


separation  from  the  communion  of  Rome,  thereby 
placing  millions  of  souls  in  a  state  which,  you  are 
bound  to  believe,  cancels  their  title  to  salvation  as 
Christians? 

I  am  aware  that  a  practical  sense  of  the  ab- 
surdity of  this  tenet  of  your  church  has  forced 
many  of  you  to  avert  their  eyes  from  it,  and 
persuade  themselves  that  it  is  possible  to  be  a 
Roman  Catholic  without  holding  the  absolute  ex- 
clusion of  heretics  from  the  benefits  of  Christ's 
redemption.  This,  believe  me,  is  an  error.  Ex- 
amine that  profession  of  faith  in  which  your 
church  has  set  forth  her  fundamental  doctrines, 
and  you  will  find  that  she  positively  confines  sal- 
vation to  her  members,  and  makes  this  very  ar- 
ticle a  necessary  condition  for  reception  w  ithiu 
her  pale.'^  Your  English  catechisms  endeavour 
to  throw  a  sort  of  veil  on  this  doctrine,  by  stating 
that  Protestants  may  be  saved  if  tliey  labour  un- 
der invincible  ignorance  of  the  true  Roman  Ca- 
tholic faith:  leaving  such  as  are  unacquainted 


*  "  This  true  Catholic  faith,  orT  of  whico  none  caw  be 
SAVED,  which  I  now  freely  profess  and  truly  hold,  /.  JV*. 
promise,  vow,  and  swear,  most  constantly  to  hold,"  &c.  &c, 
Creed  o/Pius  IV. 


6a 


with  their  theological  language  to  understand  that 
by  invindhle  ignorance,  is  meant  unconquerable 
conviction.  But  has  the  church  of  Rome  ever 
modified  her  declarations  against  heretics,  even 
with  that  poor  and  degrading  exemption  of  igno- 
rance? Will  the  learned  conviction  of  a  Melanc- 
thon,  a  Calvin,  a  Grotius,  an  Usher,  and  the 
innumerable  host  of  Protestant  luminaries,  pass 
under  the  humble  denomination  of  that  ignorance, 
on  which  Catholic  divines  allow  a  chance  of  eter- 
nal happiness  to  pagans  and  savages?  M sincere 
conviction  is  a  valid  plea  with  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church,  why  has  she  scattered  to  the  winds 
the  ashes  of  those  who  allowed  that  conviction  to 
be  tried  in  her  inquisitorial  fires  ? 

I  rejoice  to  find  the  dogma  of  intolerance  brand- 
ed in  the  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  with 
the  epithet  of  detestable  ;=^  but  cannot  help 
wondering  that  a  man  who  thus  openly  expresses 
his  detestation  of  that  doctrine  should  still  profess 
obedience  to  a  see,  under  whose  authority  the  in- 
quisition of  Spain  was  re-established  in  1814. 
If  Catholics  are  so  far  improved  under  the  Pro- 
testant government  of  England  as  to  be  able  to 

*  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  303, 1st  ed» 


I 


63 


detest  persecution,  by  what  iutelligible  distinctiou 
do  they  still  find  it  consistent  to  cling  to  the  source 
of  the  intolerance  which  has  inundated  Europe 
with  blood,  and  still  shows  its  old  disposition  un* 
changed,  wherever  it  preserves  an  exclusive  in- 
fluence?    In  what  church  did  Spain  learn  the  ne- 
cessity of  forbidding  her  subjects,  for  ever,  the 
right  of  choosing  their  religious  tenets,  and  that 
at  the  very  moment  when  she  w^as  proclaiming  a 
free  constitution?     Who  has  induced  the  republi- 
can governments  of  Spanish  America  to  copy  the 
same  odious   law  in  their  new  codes  ? — That 
church,  no  doubt,  who  looks  complacently  on  such 
acts  and  declarations,  in  countries  where  even 
her  silence  stamps  public  doctrines  with  the  cha- 
racter of  truth.     Yes;  the  *^  detestable  dogma  of 
religions  intolerance"  is  publicly  and  solemnly 
proclaimed  in  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  without  a  single  observation  against  it 
from  the  Pope  or  bishops  of  that  church;  nay,  the 
legislators  themselves  are  forced  to  proclaim  and 
sanction  it  against  their  own  conviction,  because 
the  mass  of  the  people  are  allowed  by  tlie  church 
to  understand  that  such  are  their  duty  and  her 
belief. 


64 


If  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  can  thus  allow* 
detestable  dogmas  to  act  in  full  force  within  the 
inmost  recesses  of  her  bosom,  those  Catholics  who 
differ  from  her  notions,  so  far  as  her  apologist, 
Mr.  Butler,  might  guide  themselves  in  religious 
matters  without  the  assistance  of  her  infallibilitv. 
That  able  writer  allows  himself  to  be  blinded  by 
the  spirit  of  party,  when  he  labours  to  prove  that 
intolerance  does  not  belong  exclusively  to  his 
Church;  and  charges  Protestants  with  persecu- 
tion. That  Protestants  did  not  at  once  perceive 
the  full  extent  of  the  fundamental  principle  of  the 
Reformation — the  inherent  right  of  every  man  to 
judge  for  himself  on  matters  of  faith — can  neither 
invalidate  the  truth  of  that  luminous  principle, 
nor  bind  subsequent  Protestants  to  limit  its  ap- 
plication. It  is  a  melancholy  truth,  that  Protes- 
tants did  persecute  at  one  time;  but  it  is  a  truth 
which  rivets  the  accusation  of  inherent  and  essen- 
tial intolerance  upon  that  Church,  whose  errone- 
ous doctrines  the  patriarchs  of  the  reformation 
could  not  cast  off  at  once.  Thanks  be  to  the  pro- 
tecting care  of  that  Providence,  which,  through 
them,  prepared  the  complete  emancipation  from 
religious  tyranny  which  Protestants  enjoy  at  this 


65 


moment^  tlie  infallibility  of  their  clmrclies  made 
no  part  of  the  common  belief  on  which  they  agreed 
from  the  beginning,  or  the  spirit  of  intolerance 
would  only  have  changed  its  name  among  us. 
The  dogma  of  an  infallible  judge  of  religious  sub- 
jects is  the  true  source  of  bigotry;  and  whoever 
believes  it  in  his  heart,  is  necessarily  and  consci- 
entiously a  persecutor.  A  fallible  Church  can 
use  no  compulsion.  If  she  claim  *  ^authority  on 
matters  of  faitli,  it  is  to  declare  her  own  creed  to 
those  who  are  willing  to  be  her  members.  The 
infallible  judge,  on  the  contrary,  looks  on  his  pre- 
tended gift  as  a  miraculous,  divine  commission, 
to  stop  the  progress  of  what  lie  condemns  as  an 
error.  He  persecutes  and  punishes  dissenters, 
not  because  they  cannot  be  convinced  by  his  rea- 
sons, but  for  obstinate  resistance  to  his  superna- 
tural authority.  Rome  never  doomed  her  oppo- 
nents to  tlie  flames  for  their  errors,  but  their  con- 
tumacy. It  is  by  this  means  that  she  has  been 
able  so  often  to  extinguish  sympathy  in  the  breasts 
of  her  followers;  for  error  excites  compassion, 
while  rebellion  never  fails  to  kindle  indignation. 
The  Roman  Catholics  have  been  accused  of 
holding  a  doctrine  which  justifies  them  in  not 
E  2 


66 


keeping  faith  with  heretics.  This  charge  is  false 
as  it  stands;  hut  it  has  a  foundation  in  truth, 
which  I  will  lay  before  you,  as  an  important  con- 
sequence of  the  claims  of  your  church  to  infal- 
libility. The  constant  intercourse  with  those 
whom  you  call  heretics,  has  blunted  the  feeling  of 
horror  which  the  Roman  Church  has  assiditously 
fomented  against  Christians  who  dissent  from 
her.  It  is,  indeed,  a  happy  result  of  the  Refor- 
mation, that  some  of  the  strongest  prejudices  of 
the  Roman  Catholics  have  been  softened  where- 
ver the  Protestant  religion  has  obtained  a  footing. 
Where  this  mixture  has  never  taken  place,  true 
Roman  Catholics  remain  nearly  what  they  were 
in  the  time  when  Christendom  rejoiced  at  the 
breach  of  faith,  which  committed  Huss  to  the 
flames  by  the  sentence  of  a  general  council.  In 
England,  however,  far  from  pretending  to  such 
unfair  advantages,  the  Roman  Catholics  resent 
the  suspicion  that  their  oaths,  not  to  interfere 
with  the  Protestant  establishment,  may  be  annul- 
led by  the  Pope.  The  settled  and  sincere  deter- 
mination to  keep  such  oaths,  in  those  who  appear 
ready  to  take  them,  I  will  not  question  for  a  mo- 
ment^  but  I  cannet  conceal  my  persuasion,  that  it 


67 


is  the  duty  of  every  Roman  Catholic  pastor  to 
dissuade  the  members  of  his  flock  from  taking 
oaths  which,  if  not  allowed  in  a  spirit  of  the  most 
treacherous  policy,  would  imply  a  separation  from 
the  communion  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Let  me 
lay  down  the  doctrine  of  that  church  on  this  im- 
portant point. 

/ 1  will  assume  the  most  liberal  opinion  of  the 
Catholic  divines,  and  grant  that  the  Pope  cannot 
annul  an  oath  in  virtue  of  his  dispensing  power.* 
But  this  can  only  be  said  of  a  lawful  oath;  a 
quality  which  no  human  law  can  confer  upon  an 
engagement  to  perform  a  sinful  act.  A  promise 
under  oath,  to  execute  an  immoral  deed,  is  in 
itself  a  monstrous  offence  against  the  divine  law; 
and  the  performance  of  such  a  promise  would  only 
aggravate  the  crime  of  having  made  it.  There 
are,  however,  cases  where  the  lawfulness  of  the 

*  Thomas  Aquinas,  whose  authority  is  most  highly  re- 
verenced in  these  matters,  maintains,  however,  that  there 
exists  a  power  in  the  church  to  dispense  both  with  a  vow, 
which,  according  to  him,  is  the  most  sacred  of  all  engagements, 
and,  consequently,  with  an  oath.  Sicut  in  voto  aliqua  neces- 
sitatis seu  honettatis  causa  potett  fieri  dispensati0t  *'o  ct  in 
Juramento.  Secunda  Secundx  Quest.  Ixxxix.  Art.  ix.  The 
popes,  in  fact,  have  frequently  exercised  this  di^cnsing 
power  with  the  tacit  consent  of  the  church. 


68 


engagement  is  doubtful,  and  the  obligation  bur- 
densome, or,  by  a  change  of  circnmstances,  inex- 
pedient and  preposterous.  The  interference  of 
the  Pope,  in  such  cases,  is,  according  to  the  liberal 
opinion  which  I  am  stating,  improperly  called 
dispensation.  The  Pope  only  declares  that  the 
original  oath,  or  vow,  was  null  and  void,  either 
from  the  nature  of  the  thing  promised,  or  from 
some  circumstances  in  the  manner  and  form  of 
the  promise;  when,  by  virtue  of  his  authority, 
the  head  of  the  church  removes  all  spiritual  re- 
sponsibility from  the  person  who  submits  himself 
to  his  decision.  I  do  not  consider  myself  bound 
to  confirm  the  accuracy  of  this  statement  by 
written  authorities,  as  I  do  not  conceive  the  pos- 
sibility of  any  Roman  Catholic  divine  bringing  it 
into  question. 

The  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  on  the  obligation 
of  oaths  being  clearly  understood,  sincere  members 
of  that  church  can  find  no  difficulty  in  applying 
it  to  any  existing  test,  or  to  any  oath  which  may 
be  tendered,  in  future,  with  a  view  to  define  the 
limits  of  theii'  opposition  to  doctrines  and  practices 
condemned  by  Rome.  In  the  first  place,  they  can- 
not but  see  that  an  oath  binding  them  to  lend  a 


69 


dii-ect  support  to  any  Protestant  establishment,  ol* 
to  omit  such  measures  as  may,  without  finally  in- 
juring the  cause  of  Catholicism,  check  and  disturb 
the  spread  and  ascendency  of  error;  is  in  itself 
sinful,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  obligatory.  In 
the  second  place  it  must  be  evident  that  if,  for 
the  advantage  of  the  Catholic  religion  suffering 
under  an  heterodox  ascendancy,  some  oaths  of  this 
kind  may  be  tolerated  by  Catholic  divines,  the 
head  of  that  church  will  find  it  his  duty  to  de- 
clare  their  nullity  upon  any  change  of  circum- 
stances. The  persevering  silence  of  the  Papal  see 
in  regard  to  this  point,  notwithstanding  the  advan- 
tages which  an  authorized  declaration  would  give 
to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, is  an  indubitable  proof  that  the  Pope  cannoi 
give  his  sanction  to  engagements  made  in  favour 
of  a  Protestant  establishment.  Of  this,  Bossuet 
himself  was  aware,  when  to  his  guarded  opinion 
upon  the  scruples  of  James  II.  against  the  corona- 
tion oath,  he  subjoined  the  salvo: — **I  nevertheless 
submit  with  all  my  heart  to  the  supreme  decision 
'  of  his  Holiness."  If  that  decision,  however,  was 
then,  and  is  now,  withheld,  notwithstanding  the 
disadvantages  to  which  the  silence  of  Rome  sub- 


70 


jccts  the  Roman  Catholics,  it  cannot  be  supposed 
that  it  would  at  all  tend  to  remove  them.  To 
such  as  are  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Ca- 
tholic doctrines,  which  I  have  just  laid  before 
you,  the  conduct  of  the  Roman  see  is  in  no  way 
mysterious. 

It  would  be  much  more  difficult  to  explain  upon 
what  creditable  principle  of  their  church,  the  Ca- 
tholic divines  of  these  kingdoms  can  give  their 
approbation  to  oaths  tendered  for  the  security  of 
the  Protestant  establishment.  The  clergy  of  the 
church  of  England  have  been  involved  in  a  ge- 
neral and  indiscriminate  charge  of  hypocrisy  and 
simulation,  upon  religious  matters.  It  would  ill 
become  one  in  my  peculiar  circumstances  to  take 
lip  the  defence  of  that  venerable  body;*  yet  I 
cannot  dismiss  this  subject  without  most  solemnly 
attesting,  that  the  strongest  impressions  which 
enliven  and  support  my  Christian  faith,  are  de- 
rived from  my  friendly  intercourse  witli  members 
of  that  insulted  clergy;  while,  on  the  contrary, 
I  knew  but  very   few    Spanish  priests   whose 

*  Since  writing  this  passage,  a  most  spiFited  and  modest  de- 
fence of  the  church  of  England  clergy  has  been  published  by 
Doctor  Blomfield,  Lord  Bishop  of  Chester. 


7i 

talents  or  acquirements  were  above  contemnt, 
who  had  not  secretly  renounced  tlicir  religion. 
Whether  something  similar  to  the  state  of  the 
Spanish  clergy  may  not  explain  the  support 
which  the  Catholic  priesthood  of  these  kingdoms, 
seem  to  give  to  oaths  so  abhorrent  from  the  be- 
lief of  their  church,  as  those  which  must  precede 
the  admission  of  members  of  that  church  into 
parliament;  I  will  not  undertake  to  say.  If  there 
be  conscientious  believers  among  them,  which  I 
will  not  doubt  for  a  moment,  and  they  are  not 
forced  into  silence,  as  I  suspect  it  is  done  in 
similar  cases^,  I  feel  assured  that  they  will 
earnestly  deprecate,  and  condemn  all  engagements 
on  the  part  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  to  support  and 
defend  the  church  of  England.  Such  an  engage- 
ment implies  either  a  renunciation  of  the  tenet 
excluding  Protestants  from  the  benefits  of  the 

*  I  recollect  something*  about  the  persecution  of  one  Mr, 
Gandolphy,  a  London  priest,  who  was  obhged  to  appeal  per- 
sonally to  Rome  ag-ainst  the  persecution  of  his  brethren,  fop 
exposing"  too  freely  the  doctrines  which  mig-ht  increase  the 
difficulties  of  Catholic  emancipation.  The  Pope  did  not  con- 
demn him. — Since  writing-  this  note  I  have  seen  the  case  of 
Mr.  Gandolphy  stated  in  an  able  publication  of  the  Rev. 
George  Crol\-,  entitled  Popery  and  the  Popish  Question,  Mr. 
G.*s  doctrines  were  highly  approved  at  Ronte. 


7« 


Gospri  proouses.  or  a  shocking  indifference  to 
the  eternal  welfare  of  men. 

If  your  leaders,  whom  it  would  be  uncharitable 
to  suspect  of  tlie  latter  feeling,  have  so  far  receded 
from  the  Roman  ci^eed  as  to  allow  us  the  commoD 
privileges  of  Christianity,  and  can  couscientious- 
Jy  swear  to  protect  and  encourage  the  interests  of 
the  church  of  England,  let  them,  in  the  name  of 
tratii,  speak  openly  before  the  world,  and  be  the 
first  to  remove  that  obstacle  to  mutual  benevo- 
lence, and  perfect  community  of  political  pri- 
%"ileges — the  doctrine  of  exclusive  salvation  in 
TOW  church.  Cancel  but  that  one  article  from 
joor  creed,  and  all  liberal  men  in  Europe  ^Hl 
off^r  you  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  Tour 
other  doctrines  concern  but  yourselves;  this  en- 
dangers the  peace  and  freedom  of  every  man 
living,  and  that  in  proportion  to  youi*  goodness: 
it  makes  your  very  benevolence  a  curse.  Believe 
a  man  who  has  spent  the  best  years  of  his  life 
where  Catholicism  is  professed  without  the  check 
of  dissenting  opinions:  where  it  luxuriates  on  the 
soil,  which  fire  and  sword  have  cleared  of  what- 
ever might  stunt  its  natural  and  genuine  growth; 
a  gro\^"th  incessantly  watched  over  by  the  head  of 


ra 


your  charck.  and  his  antkorized  reprtatatttiT^ 
ihe  IiK^oisitors.  Alas!  "J  hart  a  madurj^  out- 
weighed all  other  reasons  for  a  chaage.  in  a  maa 
(rf"  geniiis.  *  who  ret  cared  not  to  show  his  iadiflcr- 
ence  to  tiie  religious  system  under  which  he  was 
horn.  I.  too.  "Lad  a  motfier,''  and  sack  aoMfdicr 
as,  did  I  possess  the  talents  of  toot  great  poet, 
tenfold,  thev  would  hare  been  honoured  in  dong 
homage  to  the  powers  of  her  mind  and  the  good- 
ness of  her  heart.  No  woman  coold  love  her 
children  more  ardently,  and  none  of  those  chil- 
dren was  more  vehemently  loved  than  mTself. — 
Bot  the  Roman  Catholic  creed  had  poisoned  in 
her  the  purest  source  of  affection.  I  saw  her, 
during  a  long  period,  unahle  to  restrain  her  teai^ 
in  my  presence.  I  perceived  that  she  shunned 
my  conversation,  especially  when  my  university 
friends  drew  me  into  topics  above  those  of  domes- 
tic talk.  I  loved  her:  and  this  behaviour  cut  me 
to  the  heart.  In  my  distpes6  I  applied  to  a  friend 
to  whom  she  used  to  communicate  all  her  sor- 
rowsi  and.  to  my  utter  horror.  I  learnt  that,  sus- 
pecting me  of  anti-catholic  principles,  my  mother 


*  Pop^:  s€e  his  letter  to  Atterbuiy  o&  this  wbject. 
F 


74 


was  distracted  by  tlie  fear  that  she  might  be 
obliged  to  accuse  me  to  the  Inquisition,  if  I  in- 
cautiously uttered  some  condemned  proposition 
in  her  presence.  To  avoid  the  barbarous  neces- 
sity of  being  the  instrument  of  my  ruin,  she 
could  find  no  other  means  but  that  of  shunning 
my  presence.  Did  this  unfortunate  mother  over- 
rate or  mistake  the  nature  of  her  Roman  Catho- 
lic duties?  By  no  means.  Tlie  Inquisition  was 
established  by  the  supreme  authority  of  her 
church;  and,  under  that  authority,  she  was  en- 
joined to  accuse  any  person  whatever,  whom  she 
might  overhear  uttering  heretical  opinions.  No 
exception  was  made  in  favour  of  fathers,  children, 
husbands,  wives:  to  conceal  was  to  abet  their  er- 
rors, and  doom  two  souls  to  eternal  perdition. — 
A  sentence  of  excommunication,  to  be  incurred 
in  the  fact,  was  annually  published  against  all 
persons,  who  having  heard  a  proposition  directly 
or  indirectly  contrary  to  the  Catholic  Faith, 
omitted  to  inform  the  inquisitors  upon  it.  Could 
any  sincere  Catholic  slight  such  a  command? 

Such  is  the  spirit  of  the  ecclesiastical  power  to 
which  you  submit.  The  monstrous  laws  of  which 
I  speak,  do  not  belong  to  a  remote  period:  they 


75 


existed  in  full  force  fifteen  years  ago:  they  were 
republished,  under  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  at 
a  later  period.  If  some  of  your  writers  assume 
the  tone  of  freedom  which  belongs  to  this  age 
and  country;  if  you  profess  your  Faith  without 
compulsion;  you  may  thank  the  Protestant  laws 
which  protect  you.  Is  there  a  spot  in  the  uni- 
verse where  a  Roman  Catholic  may  throw^  off  his 
mental  allegiance,  except  w  here  Protestants  have 
contended  for  that  right,  and  sealed  it  with  their 
blood?  I  know  that  your  church  modifies  her 
intolerance  according  to  circumstances,  and  that 
she  tolerates  in  France,  after  the  revolution,  the 
Hugonots,  whom  she  would  have  burnt  in  Spain 
a  few  years  ago,  and  whom  she  would  doom  to 
some  indefinite  punishment,  little  short  of  the 
stake,  at  this  present  moment.  Such  conduct  is 
unworthy  of  the  claims  which  Rome  contends  for. 
and  would  disgrace  the  most  obscure  leader  of  a 
paltry  sect.  If  she  still  claims  the  right  of  w  ield- 
ing  *Hhe  sword  of  Peter,"  why  does  she  conceal 
it  under  her  mantle?  If  not,  why  does  she  not 
put  an  end  to  more  than  half  the  miseries  and 
degradation  of  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Span- 
ish America,  by  at  once  declaring  that  men  are 


7^ 


accountable  only  to  God  for  their  religious  belief, 
and  that  sincere  and  conscientious  persuasion  must 
both  in  this  and  the  next  world,  be  a  valid  plea 
for  the  pardon  of  error?  Does  the  Church  of 
Rome  really  profess  this  doctrine? — It  is  then  a 
sacred  duty  for  her  to  remove  at  once  that  scan- 
dal of  Christianity',  that  intolerance  which  the 
conduct  of  Popes  and  councils  has  im  ariahly  up- 
held.* But  if,  as  I  am  persuaded,  Rome  still 
thinks  in  conformity  with  her  former  conduct, 
and  yet  the  Roman  Catholics  of  these  kingdoms 
dissent  from  her  on  this  point,  they  have  already 
begun  to  use  the  Protestant  nght  of  private  Judg- 
ment  upon  one  of  the  articles  of  their  faith;  and  I 
may  hope  that  they  will  follow  me  in  the  exami- 
nation of  that  alleged  divine  authority  by  which 
they  are  prevented  from  extending  it  to  all. 

POSTSCRIPT. 

Want  of  books,  or  rather  want  of  sufficient 
health  to  undergo  the  fatigue  and  discomfort  of 
consulting  them  in  public  libraries,  had  made  me 
proceed  in  the  composition  of  these  Letters,  de- 

*  Note  C; 


77 


riving  the  materials  from  my  own  stores,  and 
from  the  hook  itsetf  against  the  general  tendency 
of  which  I  was  induced  to  take  up  the  pen.     My 
knowledge  of  the  Roman  Catholic  doctrines  led 
me  soon  to  conclude  that  Mr.  Butler  w as  a  wri- 
ter who,  on  the  fairest  construction,  knew  how  to 
divert  his  adversaries  from  all  the  weak  points  of 
his  cause.     Yet  I  trusted  that  the  accuracy  of  his 
quotations  might  he  depended  upon,   especially 
when  he  gave  us  authorized  statements  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  tenets.      The  translation  of  the 
creed  of  Pius  IV.,  which  Mr.  Butler  inserted  in 
his  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  was, 
therefore,  the  only  document  of  that  kind  from 
which  I  deduced  my  arguments  to  prove  the  duty 
incumbent  on  Roman  Catholics  to  propagate  their 
religion  by  every  means  in  their  power.    Whether 
I  have  succeeded  or  failed  in  proving  that  fact  by 
inference,  my  readers  will  decide.      But  upon  a 
revision  of  my  arguments,  I  do  not  regret  that 
an  omission  which  t  subsequently  discovered  in 
Mr.  Butler's  translation  of  that  creed  deprived 
me,  at  first,  of  the  easiest  and  most  direct  proof 
wiiich  I  could  wish  to  support  my  assertion.     For 
bad  I  consulted  the  original  at  once,  the  positive 
F  2 


78 


confirmation  which  that  document  gives  it,  and 
my  own  familiar  conviction  ^  its  truth,  would 
have  induced  me  to  save  myself  the  exertion  of 
fully  developing  my  argument.  As  it  now  hap- 
pens, I  flatter  myself  that  my  readers  will  give 
me  some  credit  for  accuracy  in  the  knowledge  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  doctrines,  when  they  shall 
see  that  a  theoretical  reasoning  from  her  estab- 
lished general  principles,  fully  and  accurately 
agrees  with  a  positive  injunction  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  of  which  lapse  of  time  had  made  me 
forget  the  existence. 

Let  us,  then,  compare  the  last  article  in  Mr*- 
Butler's  translation  of  the  creed,  with  the  original. 

Mr.  Butler's  translation:  *^This  true  Catholic 
faith,  out  of  which  none  can  be  saved,  which  I 
now  freely  profess,  and  truly  hold,  I,  JV*.,  promise, 
vow,  and  swear  most  constantly  to  hold  and  pro- 
fess the  same  whole  and  entire,  with  God's  as- 
sistance, to  the  end  of  my  life.     Amen." 

The  latin  original: — *^Hanc  veram  catholicam 
'fidem,  extra  quam  nemo  salvus  esse  potest,  quara 
in  prsesenti  sponte  profiteor,  et  veraciter  teneo, 
eandem  integram,  et  inviolatam,  usque  ad  extre- 
mum  vitse  spatium  constantissime  (Deo  adju- 


79 


vaiite)  retinere  et  coniiteri,  atque  a  milis  sub- 

DITIS,  VEL  ILLIS  QUORUM  CURA  AD  ME  IN  MU- 
NERE  MEO  SPECTABIT,  TENERI,  DOCERI,  ET 
PRyEDICARI,  QUANTUM  IN  ME  ERIT,  CURATU- 
RUM  EGO  IDEM  N.   SPONDEO,    VOVEO,   AC  JURO.'* 

Now,  the  words  in  small  capitals,  omitted  by 
Mr.  Butler,  contain  the  very  pith  and  marrow  of 
the  strongest  argument  against  the  admissibility 
of  Roman  Catholics  to  parliament.  For  if  the 
most  solemn  profession  of  their  faith  lays  on  eve- 
ry one  of  her  members  who  enjoys  a  place  of  in- 
fluence, the  duty  of  '^procuring,  that  all  under 
him^  by  virtue  of  his  office,  shall  hold,  teach,  and 
preach  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  this  under  an  oath  and  vow,*  how- 
can  such  men  engage  to  preserve  the  ascendancy 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  these  realms? 

When,  in  the  New  Times  of  the  5th  of  April, 
J  exposed  this  important  omission  before  the  pub- 
lic, I  thouglit  that  Mr.  Butler  would  have  ex- 
plained the  origin  of  it.  But  I  am  not  aware  of 
his  having  given  any  explanation.  Neither  on 
that,  nor  on  the  present  occasion,  is  it  my  inten- 
tion to  cast  a  suspicion  on  that  gentleman's  good 
faith.     He  probably-  copied  from  some  gai^bled 


80 


ti'aiislation,  prepared  by  less  scrupulous  mem- 
bers of  his  communion,  who  wished  to  conceal 
the  real  tenets  of  their  church  from  a  Protestant 
public.  At  all  events,  this  fresh  instance  of  in- 
accuracy on  a  most  important  point,  gives  addi- 
tional propriety  to  caution  in  reading  Mr.  But- 
lei'^s  defences  of  Catholicism. 


LETTER  III. 

Examination  of  the  title  to  infallibilitijj  spiritual 
supremacy^  and  exclusire  salvation,  claimed  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  Internal  evidence 
against  Rome,  in  the  use  she  has  made  ofheras- 
sii  med  prerogative.  Short  method  of  determining 
the  question. 

At  the  conclusion  of  my  preceding  Letter,  I 
entreated  you  to  examine  the  title  by  which  your 
church  deprives  her  members  of  the  right  of 
private  judgment  on  religious  matters,  and  denies 
sah  ation  to  those  who  venture  to  think  for  them- 
selves. In  making  this  request  I  may  appear  to 
have  overlooked  the  very  essence  of  your  religious 
allegiance,  and  to  demand  a  concession  which 
would  at  once  put  you  out  of  the  pale  of  the  Ro- 
man church.  But  I  beg  you  to  observe,  that 
Avhatever  be  the  extent  of  the  authority  of  that 
church  over  you,  there  is  one  point  w  hich  it  can- 
not withhold  from  the  judgment  and  verdict  of 
your  reason.  The  reality  of  her  title  to  be  the 
guide  and  rule  of  your  faitji,  must  be  a  matter. 


8^ 


not  of  authority,  but  of  proof.  He  that  claims 
obedience  in  viHue  of  delegated  power,  is  bound 
to  prove  his  appointment.  Any  attempt  to  de- 
prive those  who  without  that  appointment  would 
be  his  equals,  of  the  liberty  to  examine  the  au- 
thority, nature,  and  extent  of  the  decree  whicli 
constitutes  the  delegate  above  them;  is  an  in- 
vasion of  men's  natural  liberty,  as  well  as  a 
strong  indication  of  imposture.  If  before  we 
come  to  God  we  must,  through  nature,  believe 
that  he  is,  surely  before  we  yield  our  reason  to 
one  who  calls  himself  God's  Vicar,  our  reason 
should  be  satisfied  that  God  has  truly  appointed 
him  to  that  supereminent  post. 

How  then  stands  the  case  between  the  church 
of  Rome  and  the  world  ? 

The  church  of  Rome  proclaims  that  Jesus 
Christ,  both  God  and  man,  having  appeared  on 
earth  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  appointed  the 
apostle  Peter  to  be  his  representative;  made  him 
the  head  of  all  the  members  of  his  church  then 
existing;  and  granted  a  similar  pi'ivilege  to  Peter's 
successors,  without  limitation  of  time.  To  this 
she  adds,  that,  to  the  church,  united  under  Peter 
and  his  successors.  Christ  ensured  an  infallible 


1 


83 


knowledge  of  tlie  sense  of  the  Scriptures,  and  afi 
equally  infallible  knowledge  of  certain  traditions, 
and  their  true  meaning.  On  the  strength  of  this 
divine  appointment,  the  church  of  Rome  demands 
the  same  faith  in  the  decisions  of  her  head,  when 
approved  *^bj  the  tacit  assent  or  open  consent  of 
the  greatest  part  of  her  bishops,"  as  if  they  pro- 
ceeded from  the  mouth  of  Christ  himself.  The 
divine  commission,  on  which  she  grounds  these 
claims,  runs  in  these  words  of  Christ  to  the  chief 
of  his  apostles:  '^Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  churchy  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it:  And  I  will  give  unto 
thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  and  what- 
soever thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  sliall  be  bound  in 
heaven,  and  whatsoever  tliou  shalt  loose  on  earth, 
shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  between  this  un- 
questionable authority  and  the  statement  which 
precedes  it,  there  is  no  verbal  agreement.  A  man 
unacquainted  with  the  system  of  divinity  sup- 
ported by  the  church  of  Rome,  would,  probably, 
perceive  no  connexion  between  the  alleged  passage 
and  the  commentaiy.  But  let  us  suppose  that 
these  words  of  our  Saviour  contain  tlie  meaning 


84 


in  question:  yet  no  man  will  deny,  that  if  they  do 
contain  it,  it  is  in  an  indirect  and  obscure  manner. 
The  fact  then  is,  that  even  if  the  church  of  Rome 
should  be  really  endowed  with  the  supernatural 
assistance  which  she  asserts,  the  divine  founder 
of  Christianity  was  pleased  to  make  the  existence 
of  that  extraordinary  gift  one  of  the  least  obvious 
truths  contained  in  the  Gospels.  It  might  have 
been  expected,  however,  that  Peter,  in  his  Epistles, 
or  in  the  addresses  to  the  first  Christians  which 
the  Acts  record,  would  have  removed  the  ob- 
scurity^ and  that,  since  the  grant  of  infallibility 
to  him,  to  his  peculiar  church,  and  to  his  suc- 
cessors in  the  see  of  tliat  church  (either  inde- 
pendently of  the  infallibility  of  others,  or  in  com- 
bination with  other  privileged  persons, — for  this  is 
also  left  in  great  obscurity)  was  made  the  only 
security  against  the  attacks  of  hell;  he  would  have 
taken  care  to  explain  the  secret  sense  of  Christ's 
address  to  him.  Peter,  however,  does  not  make 
the  slightest  allusion  to  his  privileges.  His  suc- 
cessors being  not  named  in  tlie  supposed  original 
grant  of  supremacy,  it  was  in  course  that,  by  an 
express  declaration,  I'eter  would  obviate  the  na- 
tural inference,  that  they  were  excluded  from  his 


85 


0^11  personal  prerogatives.  But  Peter  is  equally 
silent  about  his  successors;  and  to  add  to  the  ori- 
ginal mysteriousness  of  the  subject,  he  never  men- 
tions Rome,  and  dates  his  epistles  from  Babylon. 
Babylon  may  figuratively  mean  Rome;  the  silence 
of  both  our  Saviour  and  his  apostle  may,  by  some 
strange  rule  of  interpretation,  be  proved  to  denote 
those  successors;  the  whole  system,  in  fine,  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  may  be  contained  in  tlie 
alleged  passage;  but,  if  so,  it  is  contained  like  a 
diamond  in  a  mountain.  The  plainest  sense  of 
any  one  passage  of  the  Scriptures  cannot  be  so 
palpable  as  the  obscurity  of  the  present.  It  fol- 
lows, therefore,  with  all  the  force  of  demonstra- 
tion, that  the  divine  right  claimed  by  the  Pope 
and  his  church  to  be  the  infallible  rule  of  faith 
having  no  other  than  an  obscure  and  doubtful 
foundation,  the  belief  in  it  cannot  be  obligatory 
on  all  Christians;  who  are  left  to  follow  the  sug- 
gestions of  their  individual  judgment  as  to  the 
ohscure  meaning  of  the  Sci'iptures,  till  the  Scrip- 
tures themselves  shall  be  found  to  demand  the 
resignation  of  that  judgment. 

I  request  you  to  observe,  that  the  force  of  my 

alignment  does  not  depend  upon  the  erroneous- 
G 


86 


ness  of  the  Roman  interpretation  of  the  passages 
alleged  for  the  spiritual  supremacy;  all  I  contend 
for  is  the  doubtfulness  of  their  meaning:  for  to 
suppose  that  the  divine  founder  of  Christianity, 
while  providing  against  doubt  in  his  future  fol- 
lowers, would  miss  his  aim  by  overlooking  the 
obscurity  in  which  he  left  the  remedy  he  wished 
to  appoint;  is  a  notion  from  which  Cliristians 
must  shrink.  It  follows,  therefore,  either  that 
Christ  did  not  intend  what  the  Romanists  believe 
about  Peter  and  his  church;  or  that,  since  he 
concealed  his  meaning,  an  obedience  to  the  Roman 
church  cannot  be  a  necessary  condition  in  his 
disciples. 

The  liberty  which,  upon  the  supposition  most 
favourable  to  Rome,  Christ  has  granted  to  be- 
lievers in  his  Gospel,  the  Pope  and  his  church 
most  positively  deny  them.  Placing  themselves 
between  mankind  and  the  Redeemer,  they  allow 
those  only  to  approach  him,  who  first  make  a  full 
surrender  of  their  judgment  to  Popes  and  councils. 
A  belief  in  Christ  and  his  work  of  redemption, 
grounded  on  the  Scriptures  and  their  evidences, 
is  thus  made  useless,  unless  it  is  pi^ceded  by  a 
belief  in  Komau  supi*emacy,  grounded  on  mere 


87 


surmises.  Christianity  is  removed  from  its  broad 
foundation,  to  place  the  mighty  fabric  upon  the 
moveable  sand  of  a  conjectural  meaning. 

This  looks  more  like  love  ofselfthanof  Christj 
more  like  ambition  than  charity.  The  title  to  in- 
fallibility and  supremacy  being  at  the  best  doubt- 
ful, the  benefit  of  the  doubt  should  have  been  left 
to  Christian  liberty. — But  may  not  the  opposite 
conduct  of  the  Roman  church  have  arisen  from 
sincere  zeal  for  what  she  conceived  to  be  the  true 
intention  of  Christ  ?  Christian  candour  would  de- 
mand this  construction,  were  it  not  for  the  use 
she  has  made  of  the  assumed  privilege:  yet  if  we 
find  that,  having  erected  herself  into  an  organ  of 
Heaven,  all  her  oracular  decisions  have  invariably 
tended  towards  the  increase  of  her  ow  n  power;  it 
will  be  difficult  to  admit  the  purity  of  her  inten- 
tions. 

By  comparing  the  articles  of  the  church  of 
Home  with  those  of  the  church  of  England,  we 
shall  find  that  the  points  of  difference  are  chiefly 
these:  tradition,  transubstantiation,  the  number  of 
sacraments,  purgatory,  indulgences,  and  the  in- 
vocation of  saints.  Such  are  the  main  questions  on 
doctrine,  at  issue  between  the  two  churches;  for 


8S 


the  diffei^nces  about  free-will  and  justification 
migkt,  I  believe,  b«  settled  without  much  dif- 
iiculty,  by  accurately  defining  the  language  on 
both  sides.  Now,  I  will  not  assume  the  truth  of 
the  Protestant  tenets  on  these  points,  nor  enter 
into  arguments  against  those  of  the  Roman  church; 
my  present  concern  is  with  their  tendency. 

To  begin  with  tradition:  let  us  observe  how 
broad  a  field  is  opened  to  the  exercise  of  infalli- 
bility, by  the  supposition  that  an  indefinite  number 
of  revealed  truths,  were  floating  down  thesti'eam 
of  ages,  unconsigned  to  the  inspired  records  of 
Christianity.  The  po  wer  of  interpreting  the  word 
of  God  by  a  continual  light  from  above,  might  be 
confined  by  the  Scriptures  themselves,  as  it  would 
be  difficult  to  force  doctrines  on  the  belief  of 
Christians,  of  which  the  very  name  and  subject 
seem  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  inspired  writers. 
Divine  tradition,  the  first-born  of  infallibility ,  re- 
moves this  obstacle;  and,  so  doing,  increases  the 
influence  of  Rome  to  an  indefinite  extent.  I  do 
not  here  contend  that  to  place  tradition  upon  the 
same  footing  with  the  Scriptures,  is  an  error;  but 
w  hether  error  or  truth,  it  is  certainly  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  Roman  church. 


89 


By  the  combined  influence  of  tradition  and  iur 
fallibility f  the  church  of  Rome  established  the  doc- 
trine of  Transubstantiation.     From  the  moment 
that  people  are  made  to  believe  that  a  man  has 
the  power  of  working,  at  all  times,  the  stupendous 
miracle  of  converting  bread  and  wine  into  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ;  that  man  is  raised  to  a 
dignity  above  all  which  kings  are  able  to  confer. 
What,  then,  must  be  the  honour  due  to  a  bishop, 
who  can  bestow  the  power  of  performing  the  mi- 
racle of  transubstantiation  ?     What  the  rank  of  the 
Pope,  who  is  the  head  of  the  bishops  themselves? 
The  w  orld  beheld  for  centuries,  the  natural  conse- 
quences of  the  surprising  belief  in  the  power  of 
priests  to  convert  bread  and  wine  into  the  incar- 
nate Deity.  ^     Kings  and  emperors  were  forced  to 
kiss  the  Pope's  foot,  because  their  subjects  were  in 
the  daily  habit  of  kissing  the  hands  of  priests — 
those  hands  which  were  believed  to  come  in  fre^ 
quent  contact  with  the  body  of  Christ. 

The  abundance  of  ceremonies  supposed  to  pro- 
duce supernatural  effects,  must  magnify  the  cha- 
racter of  the  privileged  ministers  of  those  ceremo- 


*  Note  p. 

G  S         ' 


90 


nies.  Hence  a  church  possessing  seven  sacraments., 
is  far  superior  in  influence  to  one  who  acknow- 
ledges hut  two.  Add  to  this  the  nature  of  four 
out  of  the  five  Roman  sacraments — penance,  ex- 
treme unction,  ordination,  and  matrimony — and 
the  extent  of  power  which  she  thereby  obtains, 
will  appear.  Penance,  i.  e.  auricular  confession^ 
puts  the  consciences  of  the  laity  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  priesthood.  Extreme  unction  is  one 
of  her  means  to  allay  fear  and  remorse.  Ordina- 
tion is  intimately  connected  with  the  influence 
which  the  Roman  church  derives  from  ti'ansub- 
stantiation,  and  its  being  made  a  sacrament  adds 
probability  to  the  miraculous  powers  which  it  is 
supposed  to  confer.  Finally,  by  giving  the  sacra- 
mental character  to  matrimony,  the  source  and 
bond  of  civil  society  is  directly  and  primarily  sub- 
jected to  tlie  church. 

There  still  remain  three  exclusive  off*springs  of 
tradition,  explained  and  defined  by  infallibility, 
which  yield  to  none  in  happy  consequences  to  the 
Roman  church, — indulgences,  purgatory,  and  the 
worship  of  saints,  relics,  and  images. 

The  wealth  which  has  flowed  into  the  lap  of 
Rome,  in  exchange  for  indulgences,  is  incalcula-* 


91 


ble.  Even  in  the  decline  of  her  influence,  slic 
vStill  looks  for  a  considerable  part  of  her  revenues 
from  this  source:  to  which  also  she  owes  the  de- 
gree of  subjection  in  which  she  keeps  the  Roman 
Catholic  governments.  My  unfortunate  native 
country  shows  the  nature  and  extent  of  this  influ- 
ence in  a  striking  light.  I  have  already  mention- 
ed the  Bull  of  the  Cruxade,  through  which  the  bar- 
ter of  indulgences  and  dispensations  for  money, 
is  caiTied  on,  in  a  manner  worthy  of  tlie  darkest 
ages.  The  Spanish  government  has  two  or  three 
paltry  fortresses  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  which  are 
employed  as  places  of  punishment  for  criminals. 
The  existence  of  a  few  soldiers  in  these  garrisons 
is  construed  into  a  perpetual  war  against  the  /?i- 
jiddSj  with  whom,  in  the  mean  time,  the  King  of 
Spain  is  mostly  at  peace,  from  inability  to  oppose 
to  them  an  effectual  resistance.  The  see  of  Rome, 
which  wants  but  a  slight  pretext  to  spiritualize 
whatever  may  open  a  market  for  its  wares,  calls 
this  state  of  things  between  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Africans  a  'perpetual  war  against  infidels,  which 
being,  according  to  the  principles  of  that  see,  a 
meritorious  Christian  act,  deserves  its  pastoral 
encouragement.    For  this  purpose,  every  year 


9S 


are  printed  summaries  of  a  Papal  bull,  which  tlie 
Spaniards  purchase  at  different  prices,  according 
to  their  rank  and  wealth,  in  order  to  enjoy  the 
indulgences  and  privileges  granted  by  the  Pope  in 
exchange  for  their  alms.     The  benefits  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  possession  of  one  of  these  bulls, 
are  several  plenary  indulgences,  and  leave  to  eat, 
during  Lent,  milk,  eggs,  and  butter,  which  are 
otherwise  forbidden,  under  pain  of  mortal  sin,  at 
that  season.     The  sale  of  these  privileges  having 
been  found  most  valuable  and  extensive,  a  second, 
third,  and  even  a  fourth  bull,  of  a  similar  kind, 
w^ere  devised.     The  Jiesh  bull,  as  it  is  called  in 
Spain,  allows  the  purchasers  to  eat  meat  during 
Lent,    every    Sunday,    Monday,    Tuesday,   and 
Thursday,  except  in  Passion  Week.     The  third 
bull  is  called  the  compounding  bull.     By  posses- 
sing one  of  tliese  documents,  and  giving  a  certain 
sum,  at  the  discretion  of  any  priest  authorised  to 
hear  confessions,  to  the  fund  of  tlie  holy  cruzade; 
and  property  may  be  kept,  which,  having  been 
obtained  by  robbery  and  extortion,   cannot  be 
traced  to  its  right  owners  for  restitution.     This 
composition  with  the  Pope  and  the  King,  is  made 
by  depositing  the  sum  appointed  by  the  confessor 


98 


ill  ail  iron  chest  fixed  outside  the  doors  of  church- 
es: a  comfortahle  resource  indeed  for  the  tender 
consciences  of  peculators  and  extortioners,  two 
very  numerous  classes  in  Spain.  The  fourth  bull 
is  to  be  purchased  for  the  benefit  of  the  deceased, 
and  is  called  the  defunct  bull.  The  name  of  any 
dead  i>erson  being  entered  on  the  bull,  a  plenary 
indulgence  is,  by  this  means,  believed  to  be  con- 
veyed to  his  soul,  if  suffering  in  purgatory.  To 
secure,  however,  a  double  sale,  the  thi^e  latter 
bulls  are  made  of  no  effect,  unless  the  original 
S7immarij  of  the  cruzade  be  possessed  by  the  per- 
son who  wishes  to  enjoy  the  dispensations  and 
privileges  therein  set  forth.  It  is  also  a  very 
common  practice  to  bury  these  bulls  with  the 
corpses  of  those  whom  they  are  intended  to  bene- 
fit. The  tax  thus  levied  upon  the  people  of  Spain, 
is  divided  between  the  King  and  the  Pope:  yet  it 
is  not  the  money  which,  in  this  and  similar  trans- 
actions, proves  most  beneficial  to  Rome;  the  ha- 
bit of  spiritual  dependence  which  it  supports 
among  the  Spaniards  is,  no  doubt,  its  most  valu- 
able result  to  that  see.  The  Spanish  Cortes,  who 
were  bold  enough  to  reduce  the  tithes  by  one  half^ 
when  struggling  hard  to  shake  off  the  silent  yet 


94 


formidable  influence  of  the  Pope,  found  their 
power  inadequate  to  the  task:  well  knowing  that 
were  he  to  withdraw  one  of  these  bulls,  the  mass 
of  the  people  would  instantly  rise  against  them. 
I  have  selected  this  fact  among  thousands,  that 
prove  the  accession  of  power  which  the  doctrine 
of  indulgences  produces  to  the  see  of  Rome. 

The  belief  in  purgatory  is  so  inseparable  from 
the  former  tenet,  that  I  need  not  enlarge  on  the 
peculiar  advantages  which  Rome  has  derived  from 
it.  I  will  only  observe  how  fortunately  for  the 
interests  of  the  church  of  Rome,  not  only  the  ex- 
istence, but  even  the  mutual  help  and  connexion 
of  her  peculiar  doctrines,  have  happened.  The 
power  of  remitting  canonical  penance  w  ould  have 
been  useless  on  the  cessation  of  penitential  disci- 
pline: but  TRADITION  having  about  the  Same  time 
brought  purgatory  to  light,  offered  an  ample 
scope  to  the  power  of  the  Roman  keys.  Transub- 
stantiation  now  presented  the  means  of  repeating 
the  sacrifice  of  the  cross  for  tliose  who  were  sup- 
posed to  be  undergoing  the  purification  by  fire. 
The  whole  system,  indeed,  is  surprisingly  linked 
together,  and  the  very  connexion  of  its  pai'ts, 
tending  to  secure  the  influence  and  power  of  the 


fl^ 


w)urce  from  whence  it  flows,  gives  it  the  appear- 
ance of  an  original  invention,  enlarged  from  the 
gradual  suggestions  of  previous  advantages. 

The  worship  of  saints,  relics,  and  images  might, 
when  tradition  began  to  spread  it,  have  appeared 
less  connected  with  the  wealth  and  power  of  the 
church  of  Romej  yet  none  of  its  spiritual  resources 
has  proved  more  productive  of  both.     Europe  is 
covered  with  sanctuaries  and  churches,  which 
owe  their  existence  and  revenues  to  some  report- 
ed miraculous  appearance  of  an  image,  or  the  pre- 
sence, real  or  pretended,  of  some  relic.     To  form 
a  correct  notion  of  the  influence  which  such  pla- 
ces have  upon  the  people,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
lived  where  they  exist.     But  the  house  of  Loretto 
alone,  would  be  sufficient  to  give  some  idea  of  the 
power  and  wealth  which  the  church  must  have 
derived  from  similar  sources,  when  the  whole  of 
Christendom  was  more  ignorant  and  superstitious 
than  the  most  degraded  portions  of  it  are  at  pre- 
sent.    Of  this  fact,  however,  I  am  perfectly  con- 
vinced by  long  observation,  that  were  it  possible 
to  abolish  sanctuaries,  properly  so  called,  and 
leave  the  same  number  of  churches  without  the 
favourito  virgins  and  saints  which  give  them  both 


96 


that  peculiar  denomination   and   their  populav 
cliarm,*  more  than  half  the  hlind  deference  which 
^'''    the  multitude  pay  to  the  clergy,  and  through  the 
clergy  to  Rome,  would  quickly  disappear. 

The  advantages  resulting  to  Rome  from  the 
combined  effect  of  indulgences,  relics,  saints  and 
their  images,  are  not,  however,  derived  only  in- 
directly through  the  deference  enjoyed  by  her 
clergy.  The  bond  thereby  created  between  the 
Pope  and  the  most  distant  regions  which  acknow- 
ledge his  spiritual  dominion,  is  direct.  The 
Mexican  and  the  Peruvian  expects  the  publication 
of  the  annual  bull,  which  allows  him  to  eat  eggs 
and  milk  in  Lent,  enables  him  to  liberate,  by- 
name, a  certain  number  of  his  illations  from  pur- 
gatory, and  enlarges  the  power  of  his  confessor,  for 
the  absolution  of  the  most  hideous  crimes.  Wher- 
ever he  turns,  he  sees  a  protecting  saint,  whose 
power  and  willingness  to  defend  him,  could  not  be 
ascertained  without  the  supernatural  and  unques- 
tionable authority  of  the  Pope.  It  is  the  Holy 
Father  who,  by  a  solemn  declaration,  allots  every 
district  to  the  peculiar  patronage  of  a  saint,*  it  is 
he  who,  by  grants  of  indulgences,  encourages  the 
worship  of  tliose  viiraculons  imagevS  which  form 


1)7 


central  points  of  devotion  over  all  the  Roman 
Catholic  world:  it  is  he  who  warrants  the  super-  a 
natural  state  of  incorruption  of  the  body  of  one 
saints  and  traces,  with  unerring  certainty,  some 
straggling  limb  to  another.  It  is,  finally,  he  who 
alone  has  the  undoubted  power  o^ virtually  ^urmsli- 
ing  the  faithful  with  the  relics  of  the  most  ancient 
or  unknown  patriarchs  and  martyrs,  by  bidding 
the  fragment  of  any  skeleton  in  the  catacombs,  be 
part  of  tlie  body  in  request.  * 

I  do  not  intend  to  cast  any  part  of  your  re- 
ligious system  into  ridicule;  though,  I  confess,  it 
is  diliicult  to  mention  facts  like  tliese,  without 
some  danger  of  exciting  a  smile.  These  and 
similar  practices  you  will,  perhaps,  consti'ue  into 
innocent  means  of  keeping  up  a  sense  of  religion 
among  the  lower  classes;  but  without  insisting, 
at  present,  upon  their  demoralizing  and  degrading 
tendency,  I  only  present  them  in  conjunction  with 
all  the  other  means  of  power  and  influence  which 
the  church  of  Rome  has  draw  n  from  the,  at  least, 

♦  This  is  called  christening"  relics.  The  persuasion  that 
bones  so  christened  are  as  good  as  these  of  the  favourite 
saint  to  whom  they  are  attributed,  is  certainly  general  in 
my  country.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  common  to  all  Catho- 
lics. 

H 


98 


doubtful  title,  on  which  she  grounds  her  spiritual 
supremacy.  It  is,  indeed,  of  great  importance  in 
the  question  between  Rome  and  the  Protestants, 
to  observe  the  consequences  of  their  respective 
interpretation  of  scripture,  in  regard  to  their  own 
interests.  The  mass  of  Christians  who,  unable 
to  weigh  the  theological  arguments  urged  by  the 
controversialists  of  both  parties,  content  them- 
selves w  ith  an  implicit,  and  often  an  indifferent, 
acquiescence  in  the  tenets  which  education  chanced 
to  impress  on  their  minds;  might  form  a  pretty 
accurate  notion  of  the  whole  case  by  the  following 
easy  and  compendious  method.  They  should,  in 
the  first  place,  endeavour  to  become  familiar  with 
the  reasoning  which  shows  the  absurdity  of  settling 
the  question  of  papal  supremacy  on  other  than 
Scriptural  grounds.  Let  them  remember,  what 
cannot  be  too  much  repeated,  the  necessity  of  de- 
riving the  knowledge  of  any  infallible  expounder 
of  the  Scriptures  from  the  testimony  of  those 
Scriptures,  perused  and  understood  without  the 
aid  of  that  expounder.  To  appeal  to  divine  tra- 
dition as  a  rule  for  the  interpretation  of  Scripture 
in  this  state  of  the  question,  is  equally  unreason- 
able and  preposterous;  since,  li^om  the  nature  of 


99 


the  case,  there  is,  as  yet,  no  infallible  rule  to  (lis- 
tinguish  divine  tradition  from  human  and  fallible 
report.  The  next  step  in  this  momentous  in- 
quiry, is  to  ascertain,  by  human  means,  the  true 
sense  of  such  passages  of  the  Scriptures  as  are 
said  to  contain  the  appointment  of  a  living  su- 
preme authority  in  matters  of  faith.  Here,  two 
sets  of  men,  deeply  learned  in  all  the  branches  of 
divinity,  present  themselves  as  interpreters. 
These  affirm  that  the  passages  in  question,  contain 
the  rights  and  privileges  which  the  church  of  Rome 
and  her  head,  claim  for  themselves:  those  posi- 
tively deny  that  the  passages  can  bear  such  mean- 
ing. Remember  again,  I  request  you,  that  the 
decision  must  depend  exclusively  on  the  reasoning 
faculties  of  mankind.  Which,  now,  of  these  two 
opposed  masses  of  intellect,  is  most  likely  to  catch 
the  true  meaning  of  the  texts?  Which  of  the  two 
interpretations  have  we  most  reason  to  suppose 
free  from  the  distortions  of  prejudice?  Common 
sense  answers  the  question :  that  which  is  directly 
against  the  interests  of  the  interpreters.  Europe 
lay  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  the  Pope,  and  every 
member  of  his  clergy  m  as  raised  by  the  common 
opinion,  to  a  rank  and  dignity  to  which  eveu 


100 

kings  bowed  their  head.  The  meanest  priest 
claimed  and  enjoyetl  exemptions  which  were  often 
denied  to  the  first  nobles  of  the  land.  Wealth  and 
honours  were  theirs;  the  law  shrunk  before  them 
when  guilty,  and  piety  was  ready  to  throw  a 
cloak  on  their  vices.  The  church  had,  for  many 
ages,  been  in  possession  of  unrivalled  power  on 
earth,  when,  at  the  rousing  voice  of  a  few  obscure 
men,  who  questioned  the  foundation  of  that 
mighty  structure,  a  large  portion  of  those  that 
might  have  continued  under  its  shelter,  unani- 
mously  declared  that  the  whole  was  a  w^ork  of 
delusion,  which  had  sprung  from  an  original,  un- 
examined error.  Such  was  the  unanimous  con- 
viction of  all  the  Protestants,  when  no  bias  but 
that  of  a  conti^ary  tendency  could  exist  in  their 
minds.  If  common  sense^  therefore,  must  be  the 
interpreter  of  divine  authority,  conveyed  to  us  in 
human  language;  this  fact  alone  suffices  to  point 
the  side  to  which  that  plain  and  faithful  guide 
gives  its  sanction. 

The  Reformed  churches  are  taxed  with  their 
variations,  as  if,  like  Rome,  they  had  pledged 
their  existence  upon  infallibility.  They  have, 
indeed;   varied  and  dissented  from   each  other; 


101 

with  this  diftereiice  from  tlie  oracular  church  of 
the  Vatican,  that  they  have  not  disguised  theij* 
proceedings,  nor  set  up  an  Inquisition  as  the  guard 
of  their  unity.  But  while  the  love  of  truth  com- 
pelled the  Reformers  to  expose  themselves  to  the 
insults  and  raillery  of  their  mortal  enemies,  by 
breaking  into^  parties  upon  the  more  abstruse 
points  of  divinity;  not  even  a  doubt  has  disturbed 
their  unanimity  as  to  the  insufficiency  of  the  title 
to  divine  supremacy,  by  which  Rome  commands 
intellectual  homage.  That,  indeed,  was  the  only 
point  of  controversy  which  common  sense  could 
decide;  and  the  renunciation  of  all  the  worldly 
advantages  to  which  the  Roman  church  invited 
the  Reformers,  had  left  their  judgment  unbiassed. 
Other  disputes  in  divinity  must  be  settled  by  a 
long,  difficult,  and  laborious  process  of  inquiry; 
but  a  privilege  is  a  matter  of  fact  which,  if  not 
evidently  proved,  becomes  a  nonentity.  Now,  the 
peculiar  privilege  claimed  by  Rome,  essentially 
precludes  doubtful  proofs  of  its  existence.  A 
doubtful  gift  from  God  with  a  view  to  remove 
doubt,  is  a  mockery  of  his  wisdom.  If  tlie  common 
^ense  of  many  learned  and  unbiassed  minds  is 

found  to  agree  in  denying  that  the  Scripture  pas- 
H  2 


±02 

sages  alleged  by  Rome,  in  favour  of  her  mira- 
culous infallibility,  contain  a  clear  promise  of  that 
gift,  or  describe  in  whom,  and  how  it  was  to  exist 
after  the  decease  of  the  apostles;  the  pretensions 
of  the  Pope  and  his  church  must  be  visionary. 
The  negative  proof,  in  such  cases, — the  absence 
of  a  clear  title — has  the  strength  of  demonstra- 
tion. Nothing  can  weaken  its  force  upon  a  candid 
mind,  but  the  very  common  habit  of  starting  away 
from  newly  discovered  truth  in  fear  of  its  conse- 
ijuences,  which  we  have  previously  condemned. 

I  am  aware  that,  unable  as  you  must  be  to  find 
a  direct  and  sufficient  answer  to  this  argument, 
and  inclined  to  admit  its  truth,  as  an  honest  mind 
will  make  you;  yet  a  crowd  of  such  consequences 
will  deter  you  from  the  path  into  which  reason  is 
ready  to  lead  you. — A  church  subject  to  error  and 
division! — You  shrink  from  such  an  inference, 
'without  remarking  that  the  preconceived  and  «n- 
proved  necessity  of  having  an  infallible  church,  is 
the  true  and  only  source  of  that  illogical  process, 
by  which  you  have  endeavoured  to  establish  the 
certain  existence  of  infallibility,  upon  the  vncer- 
tain  sense  of  a  few  words  of  the  Gospel. 


LETTER  IV. 

d  specimen  of  the  unity  ejchibited  by  Rome.  Roman 
Catholic  distinction  between  infallibility  in  doc- 
trinCy  and  liability  to  misconduct.  Consequences 
of  this  distinction.  Roman  Catholic  unity  and 
invariableness  of  Faith,  a  delusion.  Scriptural 
unity  of  Faith. 

''So  long  since  as  the  council  of  Vienne  (I  quote 
the  words  of  your  great  champion  Bossuet,  trans- 
lated by  your  apologist  Mr.  Butler*)  a  great  pre- 
late, commissioned  by  the  Pope  to  prepare  matters 
to  be  treated  upon,  laid  it  down  for  a  gi'ound- 
work  to  the  whole  assembly,  that  they  ought  to 
reform  the  church  in  the  head  and  members.  The 
great  schism  which  happened  soon  after,  made 
this  saying  current,  not  among  particular  doctors 
only,  as  Gersen,  Peter  d'Ailly,  and  other  great 
men  of  those  times,  buti?i  councils  too;  and  nothing 
was  more  frequently  repeated  in  those  of  Pisa 
and  Constance.     What  happened  in  the  council  of 

•  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  156, 1st  ed. 


104 

Basil,  where  a  reformation  was  ujifortunatehj 
eluded,  and  the  church  re-involved  in  new  divi- 
sions, is  well  known. '*  Such  is  the  picture  of  the 
Roman  Catliolic  church  at  the  heginning  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  drawn  by  the  most  able  as  well 
as  cautious  of  her  divines.  The  distinct  mention 
of  the  jmfortunate  cause  w  hich  prevented  the  pro- 
posed Reformation,  would  have  given  more  colour 
and  individuality  to  the  picture.  It  was,  in  fact 
a  revival  of  the  great  schism,  whicli  for  fifty  years 
had  lately  kept  the  Roman  Catholic  church  divi- 
ded between  two  or  three  Popes,  who  at  one  and 
the  same  time,  claimed  the  prerogative  of  vicars 
of  Christ:  it  was  a  fierce  contest  between  the 
council  of  Constance  and  Eugenius  IV.,  the  Pope 
who  had  convened  it,  and  whom  the  assembled 
bishops  wished  to  reform:  it  was  a  sentence  of  ex- 
communication issued  by  the  council  against  Eu- 
genius :  it  was  a  rival  council  convoked  at  Ferra- 
ra  by  the  excommunicated  Pope,  where  he  em- 
ployed the  same  arms  against  the  fatliers  assem- 
bled at  Basil:  it  was  the  deposition  of  Eugenius 
and  the  installation  of  Felix  V.  by  the  offended 
council:  it  was,  in  fine,  the  triumph  of  Rome 
against  the  spirit  which  had  attempted  to  execute 


105 

the  work,  of  which  ^^great  prelates,''  ^^panicuiai 
doctors,"  and  *  ^councils  too,"  spoke  so  frequent- 
ly, as  to  establish  it  into  a  *  ^current  saying,"  that 
the  church  needed  reform  in  head  and  members* 
The  head,  unwilling  to  be  reformed,  imprecated 
the  curse  of  Heaven  upon  the  members;  and  the 
members  finding  that  head  incurable,  chose  for 
themselves  another,  when  they  had  duly  devoted 
the  refractory  one  to  the  unquenchable  fire.  Such 
are  the  ^^vell-known"  events  which  took  place  in 
'*the  council  of  Basil,  where  a  reformation  was  un- 
fortunately eluded,  and  the  church  re-involved  in 
new  divisions.'^ 

And  now,  I  will  ask,  is  this  the  unity,  the 
harmony,  without  which  your  writers  contend 
that  the  church  of  Christ  cannot  exist?  Is  it 
thus  that  the  necessity  of  your  interpretation  of 
the  Scripture  passages,  on  which  the  system  of 
infallibility  has  been  erected,  is  sanctioned  by  ex* 
perience?  Can  you  still  close  your  eyes  against 
the  demonstration  contained  in  my  preceding 
letter,  because  variations  and  dissent  are  in  the 
train  of  its  consequences? 

<'Our  troubles  and  dissentions,  however,  (you 
are  taught  to  answer)  are  limited  to  externals; 


106 

those  of  the  Protestants  affect  the  unity  of  the 
faith."  Such  is  the  last  shelter,  the  citadel,  of 
your  infallible-church  theory.  See,  then,  the 
series  of  assumptions,  doubts,  and  evasions  of 
which  that  theory  consists,  and  observe  its  in- 
cvitable  consequences.  1st.  You  assume  that 
which  is  in  question,  the  necessittj  of  an  infallible 
judge  of  faith.  2dly.  Upon  the  strength  of  that 
assumption,  you  interpret  certain  passages  of 
Scripture,  so  that  they  are  made  to  prove  the 
existence  of  such  a  judge.  3dly.  You  are  then 
in  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  judge  himself, 
without  being  able  to  determine  by  any  fixed 
rule,  whether  the  supernatural  gift  of  infallibility 
belongs  to  the  Pope  alone,  or  to  the  Pope  and  the 
general  council.  =^  4thly.  When,  to  evade  this 
difficulty,  you  avail  yourselves  of  the  term  church, 
as  embracing  the  privileges  of  the  Pope  and 
council^  you  are  still  obliged  to  contrive  another 
method,  which  may  meet  the  objections  arising 
from  such  dissentions  between  the  assembled 
bishops  and  tlieir  head,  as  took  place  in  the  in- 
stances above  mentioned.     This  you  do  by  allow- 

-  NoteE, 


107 

iiig  no  council  to  be  infallible  till  it  has  been 
approved  by  the  Pope,  and  thus  resolve  church 
infallibility  into  the  opinion  of  the  Roman  see. 
othly,  and  finally,  You  intrench  yourselves  within 
the  distinction  of  infallibility  on  abstract  doctrines 
of  faith,  and  liability  to  practical  error.  Now,  ob- 
serve, I  entreat  you,  the  consequences  to  w  hich 
the  whole  system  leads.  The  only  sensible  mark 
of  a  legitimate  council,  being  the  approbation  of 
the  Pope;  and  the  only  sensible  mark  of  a  legiti- 
mate Pope,  being  his  undisputed  possession  of  the 
see  of  Rome;  you  have,  in  the  first  place,  entailed 
the  gift  of  infallibility  upon  the  strongest  of  the 
rival  candidates  for  tliat  see;  and,  as  moral  worth 
is,  by  the  last  distinction,  denied  to  be  a  necessary 
characteristic  of  the  vicar  and  representative  of 
Christ,  you  have  added,  in  the  second  place,  one 
chance  more  of  having  for  your  living  rule  of 
faith  that  candidate  who  shall  contend  for  the 
visible  badge  of  his  spiritual  and  supernatural 
office,  under  the  least  restraint  of  moral  obliga- 
tion. If  we  find,  therefore,  upon  consulting  the 
history  of  the  Popes,  that  no  episcopal  see  has 
oftener  been  polluted  by  wickedness  and  profligacy, 
the  fact  is  explained  by  the  preceding  statement. 


108 

What  chance  of  success  to  be  head  of  the  Christian 
church  could  attend  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus,  when 
a  Borgia  was  bent  upon  filling  tliat  post?  Gold, 
steel,  and  poison,  were  the  familiar  instruments  of 
his  wishes;  whilst  the  belief  that  faith  was  still 
safe  in  the  custody  of  such  a  monster,  prevented 
opposition  from  the  force  of  public  opinion.  The 
faithful  still  revered  in  Alexander  VI.  (be  the 
blasphemy  far  from  me!)  the  true  representative 
of  Christ  on  earth. 

The  strength  of  mind  which  enables  the  refor- 
mers to  disregard  the  generally  received  distinc- 
tion between  exemption  from  doctrinal  erroi's,  and 
liability  to  misconduct,  cannot  be  adequately  va- 
lued by  those  \\ho  have  never  imbibed  that  scho- 
lastic prejudice.  When  a  distinction  of  this  kind 
has  once  become  incorporated  with  common  lan- 
guage, men  seem  to  be  placed  out  of  the  reach  of 
conviction  on  the  points  it  affects.  If  my  obser- 
vation of  intellectual  phenomena  do  not  deceive 
me,  tlie  mass  of  those  who  may  be  said  to  think  at 
all  can  go  no  farther  in  a  reasoning  process,  than 
just  to  perceive  one  difficulty  against  their  settled 
notions,  and  to  catch  some  verbal  quibble  which 
removes  the  difficulty  from  their  sight.     The  pro- 


109 

cess  of  examining  the  usual  fallacies  of  such  an- 
swers is,  to  most  men,  so  painful  that  any  serious 
attempt  to  urge  them  upon  it,  seldom  fails  to 
rouse  their  anger.  There  are,  indeed,  but  few 
who  can  take  a  true  second  step  in  reasoning. 

The  stand  which  is  generally  made  at  the  first 
stage  of  an  argument,  is  more  resolutely  taken 
when  arguments  are  brought  against  a  system 
which  is  itself  a  palliative  of  some  previous  ob- 
jection. The  case  now  before  us  is  perhaps  the 
best  illustration  of  my  view  of  popular  intellect. 

Christianity  was  at  an  early  period  systema- 
tized according  to  the  notions  and  habits  which 
some  of  its  learned  converts  had  acquired  in  the 
philosophical  schools.  It  was  soon  presented  to 
the  world  in  the  shape  of  a  new  theory,  where 
the  links  which  appeared  to  be  wanting  between 
the  clearly  revealed  doctrines  were  supplied  by 
the  ingenuity  of  inference.  Nothing,  we  know, 
is  so  opposed  to  this  vulgar  systematic  spirit  as 
taking  facts  as  they  are.  The  cliasm  between 
what  is,  and  an  assumed  standard  of  what  should 
be,  must  be  filled  up.  Few  men  refuse  to  grant 
what  is  demanded  with  this  object;  for  fragments 
of  real  knowledge  are  not  to  the  taste  of  the  mul- 


110 

titude.  Having  agreed  that  the  Gospel  was  a 
revelation  from  Grod,  they  could  not  conceive  the 
possibility  of  doubt  affecting  it  directly  or  indi- 
rectly. Optimism  is  the  system  of  the  many;  a 
revelation  which  could  not  remove  every  doubt, 
and  silence  every  objection,  must  certainly  fail 
to  suit  their  previous  notions. 

Had  these  Christians,  however,  studied  the 
Scriptures  w  ithout  the  bias  of  such  notions,  they 
would  have  found  that  the  divine  author  of  Chris- 
tianity has  nowhere  provided  a  remedy  against 
douht  and  dissent.  There  were  heretics  when 
the  church  was  still  under  the  personal  guidance 
of  the  Apostles;  yet  the  New  Testament  mentions 
them  w  ithout  allusion  to  any  infallible  method  of 
ending  these  first  disputes  on  doctrines.  On  a 
practical  question,  indeed,  we  find  that  St.  Paul 
was  sent  to  ask  the  opinion  of  the  church  of  Jeru- 
salem; yet,  that  very  opinion  was,  in  part,  set 
aside  and  neglected,  soon  after,  by  the  tacit  con- 
sent of  most  other  churclies.  =^     The  natural  infer- 

*  The  injunction  ag-ainst  eating  blood  and  suffocated  ani- 
mals, thoug-h  given  as  from  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  considered 
as  of  mere  temporary  expediency,  and  set  aside  as  soon  RS 
heathen  converts  formed  the  majority  of  Christians. 


Ill 

ence  from  such  facts  is,  tliat  the  analogy  of  God*s 
moral  government  was  not  broken  in  the  direct 
revelation  which  he  made  to  the  world  through 
his  own  son;  but,  having  granted  us  convincing 
proofs  that  the  Scriptures  contain  the  knowledge 
supernaturally  vouchsafed  to  man,  he  has  left  the 
search  thereof  to  human  industry.  Industry  sup- 
poses difficulty,  and  difficulty  implies  danger. — 
The  field  of  moral  discipline  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  changed  by  Christianity:  the  light,  in- 
deed, thrown  upon  it  is  clearer,  and  <^the  high 
prize  of  our  calling"  is  made  fully  to  shine  in 
our  eyes;  but  it  nowhere  appears  that  we  are 
therefore  to  close  them,  and  run  blindly  after  cer- 
tain men  endowed  with  supernatural  vision. 

Such  sober  reasoning  upon/ac/s,  could  not  be 
popular  in  the  Christian  church.  An  infallible 
judgeof  abstract  questions  was  wanting,  and  one 
was  soon  found;  for  St.  Peter  was  the  chief  of 
the  Apostles,  and  Rome  the  chief  of  cities.  No- 
thing, therefore  appeared  more  natural,  than  that 
Peter  should  be  bishop  of  Rome;  and  little  proof 
of  this  fact  was  demanded :  tradition,  a  mere  re- 
port, was  sufficient  for  those  who  wished  it  to  be 
so.     Yet  something  more  was  necessary  to  fulfil 


113 

the  object  of  the  first  theory  or  supposition;  for 
Peter  could  not  live  for  ever,  and  the  judge  of 
faith  was  to  exist  till  the  end  of  the  world.  But 
what  could  be  more  natural  than  that  Peter's 
successors  should  inherit  his  supernatural  gifts? 
In  popular  logic^  what  is  natural^  i.  e,  what 
agrees  with  some  original  supposition,  is  certain. 
Subsequent  doubts,  arising  fiM)m  a  system  so 
natural,  must  be  settled  any  way,  or  left  unset- 
tled. Whether  infallibility  belonged  to  the  Pope 
alone,  or  to  the  Pope  and  the  church,  and  who 
was  to  be  considered  the  church — these  minutiae 
were  left  for  the  ingenuity  of  divines.  The  Pope 
and  Rome  were  all  in  all  for  the  mass  of  Chris- 
tians. The  effects  of  uncontrolled  power,  howe- 
ver, soon  became  visible  in  the  monstrous  cor- 
ruptions of  Rome  herself.  Here  the  second  step 
of  popular  intellect  w^as  required,  viz,  to  seize 
the  happy  distinction  of  infallibility  in  doctrine, 
and  profligacy  in  morals.  Who  that  loves  wealth, 
power,  and  pleasure,  would  wish  to  be  a  sinless 
oracle?  No:  the  system  of  spiritual  supremacy 
was.  now  complete:  the  original  supposition,  that 
the  church  could  not  resist  the  attacks  of  hell 
\%dthout  an  unerring  judge  of  abstract  questions. 


113 

Iiad  been  followed  to  its  remotest  consequences; 
he  that  ventured  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the 
whole  theory  w  as  declared  a  heretic.  The  Pope 
might  be,  in  his  conduct,  an  enemy  of  Christ  and 
his  Gospel,  and  nevertheless  succeed  in  the  en- 
joyment of  whatever  privileges  were  granted  to 
Peter,  in  consequence  of  the  love  which,  above 
the  other  Apostles,  he  bore  to  his  divine  master."* 
He  might  be  a  monster  of  vice,  yet  he  did  not 
cease  to  be  vicar  of  him  who  did  no  sin.  The 
church,  under  his  guidance,  might  be  corrupt  in 
*'head  and  members;^'  but  still  she  must  be  infal- 
lible in  matters  of  faith. 

To  the  solidity  of  this  structure  have  your  di- 
vines committed  the  stability  of  the  church  of 
Christ:  unless  all  this  be  true,  the  gates  of  hell 
have  actually  prevailed  against  her.  A  moral 
corruption  in  head  and  members;  a  system  which 
ensured  the  continuance  of  this  corruption,  by 
repeatedly  defeating  the  efforts  of  those  who  wish- 
ed for  a  reformation,  were,  if  we  believe  them, 
no  subject  of  triumph  to  the  enemy  of  God  and 

*  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  more  than  these? 
He  saith  unto  him,  Yea,  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee. 
He  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my  lambs. — John  xxi.  15.  ei  seq, 
I  3 


1**0 


man.  As  long  as  the  authority  of  Rome  was 
safe,  the  gates  of  hell  had  still  the  worst  of  the 
contest:  let  the  Pope  possess  the  heads  of  Chris-^ 

tians,  and  Satan  w^as  welcome  to  their  hearts 

**The  followers  of  Luther/'  says  Bossuet,=*  ^<as- 
suming  tlie  title  of  reformers,  gloried  that  they 
had  fulfilled  all  Christendom's  desires,  inasmuch 
as  a  reformation  had  been  long  the  desire  of 
Catholics,  people,  doctors,  and  prelates.  In  or- 
der, therefore,  to  authorise  this  pretended  refor- 
mationf  whatsoever  church-writers  had  said 
against  the  disorders,  both  of  the  people  and  even 
of  the  clergy,  was  collected  with  great  industry. 
But  in  this  lay  a  manifest  conceit,  there  not  be- 
ing so  much  as  one  of  all  the  passages  alleged, 
wherein  these  doctors  ever  dreamt  of  altering  the 
church's  faith;  of  correcting  her  worship,  which 
chiefly  consisted  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  altar;  of 
subverting  the  authority  of  her  prelates,  that  of 
the  Pope  especially — ^the  very  scope  which  this 
whole  reformation,  introduced  by  Luther,  tended 
to,'' 

If  there  be  any  conceit  in  the  matter,  it  is  that 
<jf  admitting  the  extreme  corruption  of  the  Chris - 

•  Ubi  supra- 


115 

tian  church,  with  the  unavailing  efforts  of  tlie 
advocates  of  reform,  who  preceded  Luther;  and 
yet  blaming  the  Protestants  because,  by  making 
the  Pope's  supremacy  the  '^ygyj  scope"  of  their 
reformation,  they  took  the  only  effectual  method  of 
putting  an  end  to  the  evil.  Tlie  absurd  notion 
that  the  unity  of  the  church  of  Christ  depended 
on  unity  with  the  bishop  of  Rome,  tied  the  hands 
of  all  Christians  who  wanted  either  the  knowledge 
or  the  courage  to  examine  the  airy  basis  of  that 
system. 

The  sword  and  the  faggots,  besides,  stood  in  the 
way  of  approach  to  that  delicate  point;  else  the 
invectives  so  carefully  resti'icted  to  morals  would 
not  have  always  left  the  doctrines  untouched. 
Submit  your  understanding  to  Rome;  confess  that 
you  cannot  hope  for  salvation  out  of  the  Pope's 
communion;  acknowledge  that  immorality  and 
wickedness  do  not  detract  from  his  supernatural 
privileges;  and,  on  these  conditions,  you  are  at 
liberty  to  oppose  the  corruptions  of  the  church  of 
Christ.  Conceit  is  not,  indeed,  a  word  which  I 
should  apply  to  such  adyicc:  deceit  would  seem 
more  appropriate. 

Tnvariableness  in  doctrine  is  Bossuet's  criterion 


116 

of  the  Christian  charactei'istic  of  unity;  but  surely 
any  set  of  men,  wlio  agreed  on  a  system  similar  to 
that  on  which  Roman  unity  depends,  might  equally 
boast  of  invariableness  and  unity:  surely  there 
cannot  be,  at  least  there  cannot  appear,  any  dif- 
ference of  opinion  in  a  society  which  excludes 
every  member  who  does  not  submit  his  own 
views  to  those  of  one  individual,  placed  at  its 
head;  and  which  lays  down,  as  an  indubitable 
fact,  tliat  that  individual,  whoever  he  may  happen 
to  be,  and  whatever  he  may  add  to  the  common 
doctrines  of  the  society,  always  speaks  the  mind 
of  his  predecessors,  and  only  gives  explicitness  to 
things  implied  in  former  decisions.  Such  is  the 
artful  contrivance  which  the  author  of  the  Varies 
ations  of  the  Protestant  Churches  disguises  into  a 
miraculous  unity  of  doctrine  and  belief;  the  effect, 
as  he  pretends,  of  Christ's  promise  of  support  to 
his  church  against  the  gates  of  hell.  Raking  up, 
besides,  all  the  calumnies  and  atrocious  reports 
with  which  the  character  of  the  opposers  of  Rome 
has  been  blackened  at  all  times,  and  setting  in  the 
strongest  liglit  of  mutual  opposition  the  theolo- 
gical disputes  which  divided  the  reformers,  he 
gives  the  whole  weight  of  his  authority  and  talents 


117 

to  a  delusion,  which  nothing  but  an  overwheJming 
combination  of  interest  and  prejudice  could  pre- 
vent his  acute  mind  from  perceiving.  Had  the 
Bishop  of  Mcaux  bestowed  the  ten-thousandth 
part  of  the  perverse  industry  with  which  he  fol- 
lowed that  argument,  in  examining  the  gratuitous 
assumption  on  which  it  is  founded,  we  may  hope 
that  his  honesty  w  ould  have  directed  his  pen  to 
some  other  topic.  Instead  of  availing  himself  of 
the  inveterate  notion  that  Christ  had  established 
an  infallible  judge  in  his  church,  lest,  by  the  exist- 
ence of  doubt  as  to  the  sense  of  the  Scriptures, 
there  should  be  diversity  of  opinion  among  his 
followers — instead  of  taking  it  for  granted,  that 
the  victory  of  hell  depended  on  the  diversity  of 
abstract  doctrines  among  Christians,  and  not  in 
the  prevalence  of  dark  works  of  wickedness,  pro- 
vided they  were  wrought  in  the  unity  of  Papal 
faith — he  should,  in  the  spirit  of  pliilosophicai 
reasoning,  have  penetrated  to  that  part  of  the 
argument  which  conceals  the  gratuitous  assump- 
tions whence  the  whole  Roman  Catholic  theory 
has  sprung.  When  Catholics  have  proved,  with- 
out the  aid  of  church  authority^  that  the  church  of 
Christ  must  he  infallible,  then,  and  not  before. 


118 

they  may  object  their  variations  to  the  Protes- 
tants. 

The  Protestants  have  varied  in  search  of  the 
divine  simplicity  of  the  Gospel,  which  Rome  had 
buried  under  a  mountain  of  metaphysical  notions. 
The  Protestants  have  varied,  because  they  could 
not  at  once  divest  themselves  of  the  habits  of 
thinking  which  they  had  acquired  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  schools.  The  Protestants  have  varied f 
because  they  had  the  honesty  not  to  imitate  the 
contrivances  by  which  the  Roman  church  gives 
to  her  new  decisions  the  appearance  of  unity  with 
the  preceding.  The  Protestants  have  varied,  be- 
cause they  would  not,  upon  the  fanciful  notion  of 
a  perpetual  miracle^  claim  for  any  of  their  churches 
the  supernatural  gift  of  unerring  wisdom,  nor  coun- 
terfeit by  obstinacy  in  error,  the  conscious  cer- 
tainty of  inspiration.  The  Protestants,  in  fine, 
have  varied,  because,  by  restoring  the  Scriptures 
to  their  full  and  unrivalled  authority,  they  per- 
ceived the  intrinsic  power  of  settled,  recorded,  in- 
variable revelation,*  and  were  aware  that,  in  spite 
of  doubts  and  divisions,  the  light  of  those  divine 
records  needed  no  help  to  witlistand  tlie  attacks 
of  the  gates  of  hell. 


119 

If  mere  controversy  were  my  object,  I  should 
feel  satisfied  with  having  demonstrated  that  the 
system  of  Roman  Catholic  unity  is  but  an  arbi- 
trary contrivance;  a  gratuitous  assumption  of  a 
supernatural  privilege,  which  is  nowhere  clearly 
asserted  in  the  Scriptures;  an  endeavour  to  pro- 
duce certainty  by  a  standard  conceived  and  plan- 
ned upon  conjecture.  A  more  Christian  feeling, 
however,  induces  me  to  dwell  still  on  this  subject, 
and  propose  to  you  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  true 
scriptural  notions  on  the  unity  of  the  church  of 
Christ. 

In  reading  the  New  Testament  with  a  mind 
carefully  freed  from  the  prejudices  of  school- 
divinity,  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  that  the 
assemblies  of  men  who  are  called  to  obtain  salva- 
tion through  Christ,  cannot  either  singly  or  col- 
lectively constitute  the  church,  whereof  the  Ro- 
man see  has  tried  to  appropriate  the  qualities  and 
privileges  to  herself.  Wherever  men  assemble  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  there  he  has  promised  to  be  by 
means  of  his  spirit;  and  certainly  the  works  of 
that  spirit  are  more  or  less  visible  in  the  Chris- 
tian virtues,  which  never  yet  failed  to  spring 
up  in  these  particular  churches,   though  mixed 


ISO 

with  the  tares,  and  other  evils,  which  are  not  sepa- 
rable from  *^the  kingdom  of  heaven"  in  this  world. 
But  there  is  a  structure  of  sanctity  in  perpetual 
progress,  towards  the  completion  of  which  the 
Christian  churches,  on  earth,  are  only  made  to 
contribute  as  different  quarries  do  towards  the 
raising  of  some  glorious  building.  The  churches 
on  earth  partake,  in  various  proportions,  of  the 
attributes  of  the  great  church  of  Christ,  **  which  is 
his  bodv,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in 
all."*  But  the  church  to  which  tlie  great  privi- 
leges and  graces  belong,  has  characteristic  marks 
which  cannot  be  claimed  by  any  one  of  the  church- 
es on  earth;  for  it  is  that  church  <* which  Christ 
loved,  and  gave  himself  for  it;  that  he  might  sanc- 
tify and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by 
the  word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any 
such  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish."!  To  become  members  of  that  church 
we  should,  indeed,  <  ^endeavour  to  keep  the  ttnity 
of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace;"!  but  such  unity 
is  proposed  as  the  effect  of  endeavour,  and  conse- 

*  Ephes.  i.  23.  t  Ephes.  v.  25—27. 

*  lb.  iv.  3. 


±2i 

iXuently  of  choice  and  judgment,  not  of  blind  sub- 
mission to  a  silencing  authority,  which  is  the  Ro- 
man bond  of  union.  The  true  unity  of  Christians 
must  arise  from  the  '*one  hope  of  our  calling." 
There  is  indeed  for  us  *^one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism;"  but  that  faith  is  a  faith  of  trust,  a  *<con- 
fidence,  which  hath  great  recompense  of  reward,"^ 
not  an  implicit  belief  in  the  assumed  infallibilitij 
of  men,  who  make  a  monopoly  of  the  written 
word  of  God,  prescribe  the  sense  in  which  it  must 
be  understood,  and  wdth  a  refined  tyranny,  which 
tramples  equally  upon  Christian  liberty,  and  the 
natural  rights  of  the  human  mind,  insult  even 
silent  dissent,  and  threaten  bodily  punishment  to 
such  as,  in  silence  and  privacy,  may  have  indulged 
the  freedom  of  their  minds. f 

*  Heb.  X.  35. 

f  Prseterea  ad  coercenda  petulantia  ing-enia,  decernit 
(eadem  sacrosancta  synodus)  ut  nemo  suoe  pmdentioe  innixus, 
in  rebus  fidei  et  morum,  ad  acdificationem  doctrinac  Christianae 
pertinentium,  sacram  Scripturam  ad  suos  sensus  contorquens, 
contra  eum  sensum  quern  tenuit  et  tenet  sancta  mater  eccle- 
sla,  cujus  est  judicare  de  vero  sensu  et  interpretatione  Scrip- 
turarum  sanctarum,  aut  etiam  contra  unanimem  consensum 
sanctorum  patrum,  Ipsam  Scripturam  sacram  interpretari  au- 
deat,  etiamsi  hujusmodi  interpretationes  nullo  unguam  tempore 
m  lucem  edendae  forent.  Qui  contravenerint  per  ordinarios 
declarenhir^  et  poeni*  a  jure  statutis  /»Mwan??<r.— Decretum 
«J 


4- 


122 

Such  is  the  saving  faith  of  the  council  of  Trent! 
How  different  from  that  proposed  by  St.  Paul, 
when  he  says,  *<if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy 
mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine 
heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead, 
thou  shalt  be  saved."*  **That  is  the  word  of 
faith  which  we  preach,"  says  St.  Paul^  and  well 
might  that  faith  be  made  the  bond  of  union  be- 
tween all  the  churches  which  the  Apostles  salut- 
ed, without  requiring  a  previousproof  of  their  im- 
plicit submission.  **Grace  be  with  all  them  that 
love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,"  is  St. 
Paul's  language.  Cursed  be  they  who,  whatever 
be  their  love  of  Christ  and  veneration  for  the 
Scriptures,  yield  not  obedience  to  the  church  of 
Rome;  is  the  spirit  of  every  page  which  has  been 
published  by  Popes  or  councils. 

Whatever  might  be  the  effect  of  the  prejudices 
which  the  first  reformers  brought  away  from  their 
Boman  captivity;  whatever  the  necessity  which 
Protestant  churches  still  acknowledge  of  prevent- 
ing internal  feuds,  by  proposing  formularies  of 

Concllu  Trident,  de  editione  et  usu  sacromm  UbroruiUi 
Session e  IV, 

*  Rom.  r. 


Ig3 

faith  to  their  members,  tliey  have  never  so  mis- 
uiidei'stood  ^*what  spirit  they  are  of"  as  to  deny 
salvation  to  those  who  love  their  common  Lord 
and  Redeemer.  Their  churches,  indeed,  may 
differ  on  points  which  the  subtilty  of  metaphy- 
sics had  unfortunately  started  long  before  the 
reformation,  and  even  before  the  publication  of 
Christianity:  they  may  observe  different  ceremo- 
nies, and  adopt  different  views  of  church  liierar- 
chy  and  discipline;  but  their  spirit  is  the  only 
one  which  deserves  the  name  of  Catholic  in  the 
genuine  sense  of  that  word;  the  only  spirit,  in- 
deed, which  can  produce,  even  on  earth,  an  image 
of  the  glorious  church  which  will  exist  for  ever 
In  o7iefold,  and  under  one  shepherd* 


LETTER  V. 

Moral  character  of  the  Roman  Church,     Celebacy^ 
J\^unneries» 

The  attempt  to  describe  the  moral  character 

of  a  collective  body,  which,  constantly  changing 

its  composition,  can  seldom  consist  of  the  same 

elements  for  any  considerable  portion  of  time, 

will  probably  appear  rash  and  invidious.     A  long 

familiarity  with  the  subject  which  I  have  in  hand, 

has,  however,  convinced  me,  that  if  there  he  any 

truth  in  the  general  observation,  that  men  who 

act  under  certain  laws  and  interests,  in  collective 

bodies,  areswayedby  a  peculiar  influence,  which, 

without  borrowing  a  foreign  phrase,  might  be 

called  Corporation  Spirit;  the  church  of  Rome 

presents  the  strongest  and  most  marked  instance 

of  that  moral  phenomenon.      Its  great  antiquity, 

and  the  gigantic  power  which  it  has  enjoyed  for 

ages,  are  the  natural  and  intelligible  causes  of 

those  fixed  views  and  purposes  which,  existing  at 

all  times  in  the  mass  of  its  living  members,  must 
J  2 


1^6 

inevitably  be  imparted  to  its  successive  recruits. 
The  character  of  no  one  man  can  be  more  indel- 
libly  stamped  by  a  long  life  of  consistent,  syste- 
matic conduct,  than  that  of  a  collective  body 
which,  for  many  centuries,  has  practically  learnt 
the  true  source  of  its  power.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  should  appear  that,  in  describing  the 
moral  character  of  that  body  which  Catholics 
consider  as  the  only  depositai^'  of  divine  authori- 
ty on  earth,  I  bring  a  charge  of  guilt  against  the 
whole  succession  of  men  who  have  composed,  and 
compose  it  at  present;  I  must  observe,  that  indi- 
vidual conduct,  modified  by  corporate  influence, 
cannot  be  judged  by  the  common  rules  which 
guide  us  in  estimating  private  character.  That 
every  true  Roman  Catholic,  every  man  whose 
religious  tenets  are  in  strict  conformity  with 
those  of  Rome,  must  partake  the  spirit  of  his 
standard  of  faith,  in  proportion  to  liis  sincerity; 
my  own  experience  would  compel  me  to  aver,  in- 
dependently of  any  theoretical  conviction.  But 
the  same  experience  teaches  me  that  the  natural 
disposition  of  every  person,  has  a  certain  degree 
of  power  to  modify,  thougli  not  to  neutralize,  the 
Roman  Catholic  religious  influence. — TJiis  being 


127 

premised,  I  will  openly,  before  Grod  and  man, 
declare  my  conviction,  that  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing up  the  appearance  of  infallibility,  makes  the 
church  of  Rome,  essentially  and  invariably,  ty- 
rannical; that  it  leads  that  church  to  hazard  both 
the  temporal  and  the  eternal  happiness  of  men, 
rather  than  alter  what  has  once  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  her  authority;  and  that,  in  the  prosecution 
of  her  object,  she  overlooks  the  rights  of  truth, 
and  the  improvement  of  the  human  understand- 
ing. 

In  the  proof  and  substantiation  of  these  charges 
I  will  strictly  observe  the  conditions  proposed  for 
similar  cases  by  the  author  of  the  Book  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  *^I  beg  leave  to  sug- 
gest," says  Mr.  Butler,  ^Hhat,  in  every  religious 
controversy  between  Protestants  and  Roman  Ca- 
tholics, the  following  rule  should  be  observed: — - 
That  no  doctrine  should  be  ascribed  to 
THE  Roman  Catholics  as  a  body,    except 

SUCH    AS    IS  AN  ARTICLE  OF  THEIR  FAITH.''* 

Now >  it  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  that  a  canon  of  a 
general  council,  approved  by  the  Pope — i.  e.  a 
rule  of  belief  delivered  to  the  people,  under  the 

*  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  9. 


■e: 


128 

i'earful  sanction  of  an  anathema,  leaves  no  other 
alternative  to  a  Roman  Catholic  but  embracing 
the  doctrine  it  contains,  or  being  excluded  from 
his  church  by  excommunication.  By  one,  then, 
of  such  canons,  every  member  of  the  chuiTh  of 
Rome  is  bound  to  believe  that  all  baptized  per- 
sons are  liable  to  be  compelled,  by  punishment y 
to  be  Christians,  or  what  is  the  same  in  Roman 
Catholic  divinity,  spiritual  subjects  of  the  Pope. 
It  is,  indeed,  curious  to  see  the  council  of  Trent, 
who  passed  that  law,  prepare  the  free  and  ex- 
tended action  of  its  claims,  by  an  unexpected 
stroke  of  liberality.  In  the  Session  on  Baptism, 
the  Trent  Fathers  are  observed  anxiously  secur- 
ing to  Protestants  the  privileges  of  true  baptism. 
The  fourth  canon  of  that  Session  fulminates  an 
anathema  or  curse  against  any  one  who  should 
say  that  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  conferred  by  a  heretic, 
with  an  intention  to  do  that  which  the  church  in- 
tends in  that  sacrament,  is  not  true  baptism.* — 

•  si  quis  dixerit  baptismum,  qui  etiam  datur  ab  hxreticis 
in  nomine  Patris,  et  Filii,  et  Spiritus  Sancti,  cum  intentione 
faciendi  quod  facit  ecclesla,  non  esse  verum  baptismum,  ana- 
thema sit.— Concil.  Trident.  Sess.  VU.  Can.  IV. 


1S9 

Observe,  now,  tlic  consequences  of  this  enlarged 
spirit  of  concession  in  the  two  subjoined  canons. 

^*If  any  one  should  say  that  those  who  have 
been  baptized  are  free  from  all  the  precepts  of 
the  holy  church,  either  written  or  delivered  by 
tradition,  so  that  they  are  not  obliged  to  observe 
rhem,  unless  they  will  submit  to  them  of  their 
own  accord,  let  him  be  accursed."^ 

Having  soon  after  declared  the  lawfulness  of 
infant  baptism,  they  proceed  to  lay  down  the 
XIV.  Canon. 

*^If  any  one  should  say  that  these  baptised 
children,  when  they  grow  up,  are  to  be  asked 
whetlier  tliey  will  confirm  what  their  godfathers 
promised  in  their  namo*  and  that  if  they  say  they 
will  not,  they  are  to  be  left  to  their  own  discre- 
tion, and  not  to  be  forced,  in  the  mean  time,  into 
the  observance  of  a  Christian  life  htj  any  other 
punishment  than  that  of  keeping  them  from  the 
reception  of  the  eucharist  and  the  other  sacraments 
till  they  repent,  let  him  be  accursed.'^ 

*  Si  quis  dlxerlt,  baptizatos  llberos  ease  ab  omnibus  sanctse 
Romanae  ecclesiae  prxceptis,  qua  vel  scripta  vel  tradita  sunt, 
ita  ut  ea  observare  non  teneatur,  nisi  se  sua  sponte  illis  sub- 
mittere  voluerint,  anathema  sit. 

f  Si  quis  dixerit  hujusmodi  parvulos  baptizatos,  cum  ado- 


130 

Now,  **it  is  most  true,"  says  the  author  of  the 
Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  *^that  the 
Roman  Catholics  believe  the  doctrines  of  theii* 
church  to  be  unchangeable;  and  that  it  is  a  tenet 
of  their  creed,  that  what  their  faith  ever  has  been, 
such  it  was  from  the  beginning,  such  it  now  is, 
and  such  it  will  ever  be.'-'  Let  him,  therefore, 
choose  between  this  boasted  consistency  of  doc- 
trine, and  the  curse  of  his  church.  The  council 
of  Trent,  that  council  whose  decrees  are,  by  the 
creed  of  Pius  IV.,  declared  to  be  obligatory  above 
all  others;*  that  council  has  converted  the  sa- 
crament of  Baptism  into  an  indelible  brand  of 
slavery:  whoever  has  received  the  waters  of  re- 
generation, is  the  thrall  of  her  who  declares  that 


Icverint,  Interrog-andos  esse,  an  ratum  habere  vellnt  quod  pa- 
trini,  eorum  nomine,  dum  baptizarentur,  polliciti  sunt,  et, 
ubi  se  nolle  responderint,  suo  esse  arbitrio  relinquendos,  nee 
alia  interim  psena  ad  Christianam  vitam  cogendoSf  nisi  ut  ab 
eucharistise,  aliorumque  sacramentorum  perceptione  arcean- 
tur  donee  resipiscant,  anathema  sit.  Can.  VIII.  et  XIV.  de 
Baptismo. 

•  "I  also  profess  and  undoubtedly  receive  all  other  things 
delivered,  defined,  and  declared  by  the  sacred  canons  and 
general  councils,  particularly  by  the  holy  council  c^  Trent, 
&c.  &c."  Creed  of  Pius  IV,  in  the  Book  of  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholic Church,  p.  8. 


131 

there  is  no  other  church  of  Christ.  She  claims 
her  slaves  wherever  tliey  may  he  found,  declares 
them  subject  to  her  laws,  both  written  and  tra- 
ditional, and,  by  her  infallible  sanction,  dooms 
tliem  to  indefinite  punishment,  till  they  shall  ac- 
knowledge her  authority  and  bend  their  necks  to 
her  yoke.  Siich  is,  has  been,  and  will  ever  be,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church;  such  is 
the  belief  of  her  true  and  sincere  members;  such 
the  spirit  that  actuates  her  views,  and  which,  by 
every  possible  means,  she  has  always  spread 
among  her  children.  Him  that  denies  this  doc- 
trine, Rome  devotes  to  perdition.  The  principle 
of  religious  tyranny,  supported  by  persecution,  is 
a  necessary  condition  of  true  Catholicism:  he  who 
revolts  at  the  idea  of  compelling  belief  by  punish- 
ment, is  severed  at  once  from  the  communion  of 
Rome. 

What  a  striking  commentary  on  these  canons  of 
the  Council  of  Trent  have  we  in  the  history  of 
the  Inquisition!  Refractory  Catholics  born  under 
the  spiritual  dominion  of  Rome,  and  Protestants 
originally  baptized  out  of  her  pale,  liave  equally 
tasted  her  flames  and  her  racks.  *    Nothing,  in 

•  Llorente  mentions  the  punishments  inflicted  by  the  Spa- 
nish Inquisition  on  Engiishi  and  French  subjects. 


13S 

deed,  but  want  of  power,  nothing  biit  the  much- 
lamented  ascendancy  of  heresy,  compels  the  church 
of  Rome  to  keep  lier  infallible,  immutable  decrees 
in  silent  abeyance.     But  the  divine  authority  of 
those  decrees,  the  truth  of  their  inspiration,  must 
for  ever  be  asserted  by  every  individual  who  sin- 
cerely embraces  tlie  Roman  Catholic  faith.  Reason 
and  humanity  must,  in  them,  yield  to  the  infallible 
decree  in  favour  of  compulsion  on  religious  mat- 
ters.    The  human  ashes,  indeed,  are  scarcely  cold 
which,  at  the  end  of  three  centuries  of  persecution 
and  massacre,  these  decrees  scattered  over  the  soil 
of  Spain.     I  myself  saw  the  pile  on  which  the  last 
Victim  w  as  sacrificed  to  Roman  infallibility.     It 
was  an  unhappy  woman,  whom  the  Inquisition  of 
Seville  committed  to  the  flames  under  the  charge 
of  heresy,  about  forty  years  ago:  she  perished  on 
a  spot  w  here  thousands  had  met  the  same  fate.     I 
lament  from  my  heart  that  the  structure  which 
supported  their  melting  limbs,  was  destroyed  dur- 
ing the  late  convulsions.    It  should  have  been  pre- 
served, with  the  infallible  and  immutable  canon  of 
the  Council  of  Trent  over  it,  for  the  detestation 
of  future  ages. 
How  far,  to  preserve  consistency,  Rome,  In  the 


133 

present  time,  would  carry  the  right  of  punishing 
dissent,  which  her  last  general  council  confirmed 
with  its  most  solemn  sanction;  it  is  not  in  my 
power  to  tell.  It  may  be  hoped  that  the  spirit  of 
the  age  has  extinguished  her  fires  for  ever:*  but 
the  period  I  fear  is  still  remote  when  she  will 
change  another  part  of  her  system,  by  which  she 

ruins  the  happiness  and  morals  of  numbers, I 

mean  her  monastic  vows,  and  the  laws  which  bind 
Catholic  clergy  to  perpetual  celibacy. 

Where  church  infallibility  is  concerned,  I  can 
i*eadily  understand  the  necessity  imposed  on  the 
most  liberal  individuals  who  have  filled  the  Roman 
see,  to  adhere  strictly  to  former  decrees  and  de- 
clarations; but  nothing  can  excuse  or  palliate  the 
proud  obstinacy  which  Rome  has  always  shown 
on  such  points  of  discipline,  as  might  be  altered 
for  the  benefit  of  public  morals,  without  compro- 
mising her  claims.   Such  are  the  laws  which  annul 
and  punish  the  marriages  of  secular  clergymen, 
and  those  which  demand  perpetual  vows  from  them 
who  profess  any  of  the  numerous  monastic  rules 
approved  by  the  Roman  church,  both  for  males 
and  females. 

♦  Note  F. 
K 


134< 

1  will  not  discuss  the  question,  w!»ether  a  life 
of  celibacy  is  recommended  in  the  New  Testament 
as  preferable  to  matrimony  at  all  periods,  and  in 
all  circumstances  of  the  church.  I  will  suppose, 
what  I  do  not  believe,  that  virginity,  by  its  own 
intrinsic  merit,  and  witliout  reference  to  some  vir- 
tuous purpose,  which  may  not  be  attainable  other- 
wise than  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  soft  passions  of 
the  heart;  has  a  mysterious  value  in  the  eyes  of 
God:  a  supposition  which  can  hardly  be  made 
without  advantage  to  some  part  of  the  ancient 
Manichsean  system — without  some  suspicion  that 
the  law,  by  which  the  human  race  is  preserved,  is 
not  the  pure  effect  of  the  will  of  God.  I  will  not 
assail  such  views,  which,  more  or  less,  might  be 
inferred  from  the  writings  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
mystics.  I  will  take  up  the  subject  on  their  own 
terms.  Let  virginity  be  the  virtue^  not  (as  I  be- 
lieve) the  conditwn  of  angels:  let  it  be  desirable^ 
as  St.  Augustine  expresses  himself  somewhere, 
that  mankind  were  blotted  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  by  the  operation  of  celibacy.*       Let  all 

*  I  cannot  tax  my  memory  with  the  words,  nor  is  the 
object  worth  the  labour  of  a  long  search.  I  believe  that  St. 
Augustine,  in  answering  the  objection  that,  if  all  the  world 


135 

this  be  so;  yet  are  not  celibacy  and  virginity  des- 
cribed in  tne  New  Testament  as  peculiar  and  un- 
common gifts,  as  perilous  trials,  and  likely  to 
place  human  beings  in  a  state  which  St.  Paul 
compares  to  burning?  Are  not  the  warnings 
and  cautions  given  by  our  Saviour  and  his  Apos- 
tles, as  frequent  as  tlie  allusions  to  it?  Did  not 
St.  Paul  fear  that  the  very  mention  of  this  topic 
might  become  a  snare  to  his  converts? — But  how 
is  the  subject  of  virginity  and  celibacy  treated 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  church?  The  world 
rings  with  the  praises  of  the  unmarried  state, 
which  her  wTiters,  her  fathers,  her  Popes,  her 
councils,  have  sounded  from  age  io  age.  Not 
satisfied  with  placing  it  at  the  very  summit  of 
the  scale  of  Christian  virtue,  they  contrived  the 
most  cruel  and  insidious  of  all  moral  snares,  in 
the  perpetual  vows  with  which  they  secured  the 
profession,  not  the  observance,  of  the  virtue  tliey 
extolled.  St.  Paul  lamented  that  young  widows, 
after  devoting  themselves  to  the  service  of  the 
church,  and  living  at  the  expense  of  her  mem- 
followed  the  principle  he  recommended,  the  earth  would 
soon  be  a  desert,  says,  with  an  air  of  triumph — Oh  felix 
mundi  exitiumf 


186 

bei*s,  grew  disorderly,  and  married,  incurring 
blame^  from  the  enemies  of  the  Christian  name, 
who  scoffed  at  their  fickleness  of  purpose.  Against 
this  evil  he  provided  the  most  rational  remedy — 
that  of  receiving  no  widow  to  the  service  of  the 
church,  who  was  not  threescore  years  old.  The 
church  of  Rome,  on  the  contrary,  allures  boys 
and  girls  of  sixteen  to  bind  themselves  with  per- 
petual vows:  the  latter  are  confined  in  prisons, 
because  their  frailties  could  not  be  concealed; 
the  former  are  let  loose  upon  the  people,  trusting 
that  a  superstitious  reverence  will  close  the  eyes, 
or  seal  up  the  lips  of  men,  on  their  misconduct. 
^^Christian  clemency,"  says  Erasmus,  **has,  for 
the  most  part,  abolished  the  servitude  of  the  an- 
cients, leaving  but  vestiges  of  it  in  a  few  coun- 
tries. But  under  the  cloak  of  religion  a  new 
kind  of  slavery  has  been  invented,  which  now 
prevails  in  a  multitude  of  monasteries.  Nothing 
there  is  lawful  but  what  is  commanded:  whatever 
may  accrue  to  the  professed  becomes  the  proper- 
ty of  the  community :  if  you  stir  a  foot,  you  are 
brought  back,  as  if  flying  after  murdering  your 

*  The  word  damnation  is,  in  its  present  sense,  quite  in- 
appropriate in  this  and  several  other  passages. 


137 

lather  and  mother.*  The  Council  of  Trent  en- 
joins all  bishops  to  enforce  the  close  confinement 
of  nuns,  by  every  means,  and  even  to  engage  the 
assistance  of  the  secular  arm  for  that  purpose; 
entreats  all  Princes  to  protect  the  inclosure  of 
the  convents;  and  threatens  instant  excommuni- 
cation on  all  civil  magistrates  who  withhold  their 
aid  w^hen  the  bishops  call  for  it.  ^^Let  no  pro- 
fessed nun  (say  the  fathers  of  the  Council  of 
Trent)  come  out  of  her  monastery  under  any  pre- 
text whatever^  not  even  for  a  moment."  ^^If 
any  of  the  regulars  (men  and  women  under  per- 
petual vows)  pretend  that  fear  or  force  compelled 
them  to  enter  the  cloister,  or  that  the  profession 
took  place  before  the  appointed  age;  let  them  not 
be  heard,  except  within  five  years  of  their  pro- 
fession. But  if  they  put  off  the  frock,  of  their 
own  accord,  no  allegation  of  such  should  be 
heard;  but,  being  compelled  to  return  to  the  con- 
vent, they  must  be  punished  as  apostates^  being,  in 
the  mean  time,  deprived  of  all  the  privileges  of 
their  order. '^f  Such  is  the  Christian  lenity  of 
Rome;  such  the  fences  that  guard   her  virgin- 

*  See  the  whole  dialogue,  Virgo  Mtofoya^of,  Note  H. 
I  See  the  laws  on  this  subject,  Note  I. 
K  2 


138 

plots;  such  were  the  laws  confirmed  at  Trent  by 
the  wild  uproar  of  six  hundred  bishops,  of  whom 
but  few  could  have  cast  the  first  stone  at  the  adul- 
teress, dismissed  to  sin  no  more  by  the  Saviour. 
*<Accursed,  accursed  be  all  heretics,"  exclaim  the 
legates:  ^* Accursed,  accursed,"  answer,  with  one 
voice,  the  mitred  tyrants.*  The  blood,  indeed, 
boils  in  one's  veins,  and  the  mouth  fills  with  re- 
taliating curses,  at  the  contemplation  of  that  odi- 
ous scene:  yet,  I  thank  God,  the  feelings  of  in- 
dignation which  I  cannot  wholly  suppress,  leave 
me  completely  free  to  obey  the  divine  precept 
respecting  those  that  <*cui*se  us,  and  despitefully 
use  us." 

That  my  feelings  are  painfully  vehement  when 
I  dwell  upon  this  subject;  that  neither  the  free- 
dom I  have  enjoyed  so  many  yeai^,  nor  the  last 
repose  of  the  victims,  the  remembrance  of  w  hom 
still  wrings  tears  from  my  eyes,  can  allay  the  bit- 
ter pangs  of  my  youth;  are  proofs  that  my  views 
arise  from  a  real,  painful,  and  protracted  experi- 
ence.    Of  monks  and  friars  I  know  comparative- 

*  See  the  Acclamations  in  the  last  sessions  of  the  Council 
of  Trent.  See  also  the  state  of  morals  among*  the  clerg-y,  ac- 
cording to  the  ayowal  of  the  first  legates.    Note  I. 


139 

\y  little,  because  the  vague  suspicions,  of  which 
even  the  most  pious  Spanish  parents  cannot  di- 
vest themselves,  prevented  my  frequenting  the 
interior  of  monasteries  during  boyhood.  My 
own  judgment,  and  the  general  disgust  which  the 
prevailing  grossness  and  vulgarity  of  the  regu- 
lars, create  in  those  who  daily  see  them;  kept 
me  subsequently  away  from  all  friendly  inter- 
course with  the  cowled  tribes:  but  of  the  secular 
clergy,  and  the  amiable  life-prisoners  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  few,  if  any,  can  possess  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  than  myself.  Devoted  to 
the  ecclesiastical  profession  since  the  age  of  fif- 
teen, when  I  received  the  minor  orders,  I  lived 
in  constant  friendship  with  the  most  distinguish- 
ed youths  who,  in  my  town,  were  preparing  for 
the  priesthood.  Men  of  the  first  eminence  in  the 
churcli  were  the  old  friends  of  my  family — my 
parents'  and  my  own  spiritual  directors.  Thus 
I  grew  up,  thus  I  continued  in  manhood,  till,  at 
the  age  of  five-and-thirty,  religion,  and  religion 
alone,  tore  me  away  from  kindred  and  country. 
The  intimacy  of  friendship,  the  undisguised  con- 
verse of  sacramental  confession,  opened  to  me 
the  hearts  of  many,  whose  exterior  conduct  might 


i40 


have  deceived  a  common  observer.  The  coarse 
frankness  of  associate  dissoluteness,  left  no  se- 
crets among  the  spiritual  slaves,  who,  unable 
to  separate  the  laws  of  God  from  those  of  their 
tyrannical  church,  trampled  both  under  foot,  in 
riotous  despair.  Such  are  the  sources  of  the 
knowledge  I  possess :  God,  sorrow,  and  remorse, 
are  my  witnesses. 

A  more  blameless,  ingenuous,  religious  set  of 
youths  than  that  in  the  enjoyment  of  ^^  hose  friend- 
ship I  passed  the  best  years  of  my  life,  the  w^orld 
cannot  boast  of.  Eight  of  us,  all  nearly  of  the 
same  age,  lived  in  the  closest  bond  of  affection, 
from  sixteen  till  one-and-twenty;  and  four,  at 
least,  continued  in  the  same  intimacy  till  that  of 
about  thirty -five.  Of  this  knot  of  friends  not  one 
was  tainted  by  the  breath  of  gross  vice  till  the 
church  had  doomed  them  to  a  life  of  celibacy, 
and  turned  the  best  affections  of  their  hearts  into 
0^  crime.     It  is  the  very  refinement  of  church  cruelty 

to  say  they  were  free  when  they  deprived  them- 
selves of  their  natural  rights.  Less,  indeed,  would 
be  the  unfeelingness  of  a  pai*ent  who,  watching  a 
moment  of  generous  excitement,  would  deprive  a 
son  of  his  birthright,  and  doom  him,  by  a  volun- 


141 

tary  act,  to  pine  away  through  life  in  want  and 
misery.  A  virtuous  youth  of  one-and-twenty,  who 
is  made  to  helieve  Christian  perfection  inseparable 
from  a  life  of  celibacy,  will  easily  overlook  the 
dangers  which  beset  that  state  of  life.  Those  who 
made,  and  those  who  still  support  the  unnatural 
law,  which  turns  the  mistaken  piety  of  youth  into 
a  source  of  future  vice;  ought  to  have  learnt  mercy 
from  their  own  experience:  but  a  priest  who  has 
waded  (as  most  do)  through  the  miry  slough  of  a 
life  of  incessant  temptation — ^falling,  and  rising, 
stumbling,  struggling,  and  falling  again,  without 
at  once  casting  off  Catholicism  with  Christianity; 
contracts,  generally,  habits  of  mind  not  unlike 
those  of  the  guards  of  oriental  beauty.  Their 
hearts  have  been  seared  with  envy. 

I  cannot  think  on  the  wanderings  of  the  friends 
of  my  youth  without  heart-rending  pain.  One, 
now  no  more,  whose  talents  raised  him  to  one  of 
the  highest  dignities  of  the  church  of  Spain,  was 
for  many  years  a  model  of  Christian  purity. 
Wlien,  by  the  powerful  influence  of  his  mind  and 
the  warmth  of  his  devotion,  this  man  had  drawn 
many  into  the  clerical,  and  the  religious  life  (my 
youngest  sister  among  the  latter.)  he  sunk  at  once 


14S 

into  the  grossest  and  most  daring  profligacy.  1 
heard  him  boast  that  the  night  before  the  solemn 
procession  of  Coitus  Christi,  where  he  appeared 
nearly  at  the  head  of  his  chapter,  one  of  two  child- 
ren had  been  born,  which  his  two  concubines 
brought  to  light  within  a  few  days  of  each  other. 
The  intrigues  of  ambition  soon  shared  his  mind 
with  the  pursuit  of  pleasure;  and  the  fall  of  a  po- 
tentate, wiiom  he  took  the  trouble  to  instruct  in 
the  policy  of  Machiavel,  involved  him  in  danger 
and  distress  for  a  time.  He  had  risen  again  into 
court  influence,  when  death  cut  him  off"  in  the 
flower  of  life.  I  had  loved  him  when  both  our 
minds  were  pure:  I  loved  him  when  Catholicism 
had  driven  us  both  from  the  path  of  virtue:  I  still 
love,  and  will  love  his  memory,  and  hope  that 
God's  mercy  has  pardoned  his  life  of  sin,  with- 
out imputing  it  to  the  abetters  of  the  barbarous 
laws  which  occasioned  his  spiritual  ruin. 

Such,  more  or  less,  has  been  the  fate  of  my 
early  friends,  whose  minds  and  hearts  were  much 
above  the  common  standard  of  the  Spanish  clergy. 
What,  then,  need  I  say  of  the  vulgar  crowd  of 
priests,  who,  coming,  as  the  Spanish  plirase  has  it, 
from  coarse  swaddling  clothes^  and  raised  by  ordi- 


14S 

nation  to  a  rank  of  life  for  wliich  they  have  not 
been  prepared;  mingle  vice  and  superstition,  gross- 
ness  of  feeling,  and  pride  of  office,  in  their  charac- 
ter?    I  have  known  the  best  among  them:  I  have 
heard  their  confessions;  I  have  heard  the  con- 
fessions of  young  persons  of  both  sexes,  who  fell 
under  the  influence  of  their  suggestions  and  ex- 
ample; and  I  do  declare  that  nothing  can  be  more 
dangerous  to  youthful  virtue  than  their  company. 
How  many  souls  would  be  saved  from  crime,  but 
for  the  vain  display  of  pretended  superior  virtue, 
which  Rome  demands  of  her  clergy! 

The  cares  of  a  married  life,  it  is  said,  interfere 
with  the  duties  of  the  clergy.     Do  not  the  cares 
of  a  vicious  life,  the  anxieties  of  stolen  love,  the 
contrivances  of  adulterous  intercourse,  the  pains, 
the  jealousies,  the  remorse,  attached  to  a  conduct 
in  perfect  contradiction  with  a  public  and  solemn 
profession  of  superior  virtue—do  not  these  cares, 
these  bitter  feelings,  interfere  with  the  duties  of  the 
priesthood  ?     I  have  seen  the  most  promising  men 
of  my  university  obtain  country  vicarages,  with 
characters  unimpeached,  and  hearts  overflowing 
with  hopes  of  usefulness.     A  virtuous  wife  would 
liave  confirmed  and  strengthened  their  purposes^ 


144 

but  they  were  to  live  a  life  of  angels  in  celibacy. 
They  were,  however,  men,  and  their  duties  con- 
nected them  witli  beings  of  no  higher  description. 
Young  women  knelt  before  them,  in  all  tlie  inti- 
macy and  openness  of  confession.  A  solitary  house 
made  them  go  abroad  in  search  of  social  converse. 
Love,  long  resisted,  seized  them,  at  length,  like 
madness.  Two  I  knew  who  died  insane:  hun- 
dreds might  be  found  who  avoid  that  fate  by  a  life 
of  settled,  systematic  vice. 

The  picture  of  female  convents  requires  a  more 
delicate  pencil:  yet  I  cannot  find  tints  sufficiently 
dark  and  gloomy  to  pourti*ay  tlie  miseries  which 
I  have  witnessed  in  their  inmates.  Crime,  indeed, 
makes  its  w  ay  into  those  recesses,  in  spite  of  the 
spiked  walls  and  prison  grates,  which  protect  the 
inhabitants.  This  I  know  with  all  the  certainty 
which  the  self-accusation  of  the  guilty  can  give. 
It  is,  besides,  a  notorious  fact,  that  the  nunneries 
in  Estremadura  and  Portugal  are  frequently  in- 
fected with  vice  of  the  grossest  kind.  But  I  will 
not  dwell  on  this  revolting  part  of  the  picture. 
The  greater  part  of  the  nuns,  whom  I  have  known 
w  ere  beings  of  a  much  higher  description — females 
whose  purity  owed  nothing  to  the  sti'ong  gates 


145 

aiid  high  walls  of  the  cloister^  hut  who  still  had  a 
human  heart,  and  felt,  in  many  instances,  and 
during  a  great  portion  of  their  lives,  the  weight 
of  the  vows  which  had  deprived  them  of  their 
liberty.  Some  there  are,  I  confess,  among  the 
nuns,  who,  like  birds  hatched  in  a  cage,  never 
seem  to  long  for  freedom:  but  the  happiness  boast- 
ed of  in  convents,  is  generally  the  effect  of  an  ho- 
nourable pride  of  purpose,  supported  by  a  sense 
of  utter  hopelessness.  The  gates  of  the  holy  prison 
have  been  for  ever  closed  upon  the  professed  in- 
habitants,'  force  and  shame  await  them  wherevei* 
they  might  fly:  the  short  words  of  their  profes- 
sion have,  like  a  potent  charm,  bound  them  to  one 
spot  of  earth,  and  fixed  their  dwelling  upon  their 
grave.  The  great  poet  who  boasted  that  <  ^slaves 
cannot  live  in  England,"  forgot  that  superstition 
may  baffle  the  most  sacred  laws  of  freedom:  slaves 
do  live  in  England,  and,  I  fear,  multiply  daily  by 
the  same  arts  which  fill  the  convents  abroad.  In 
vain  does  the  law  of  the  land  stretch  a  friendly 
hand  to  the  rei>eutant  victim:  the  unhappy  slave 
may  be  dying  to  break  her  fetters^  yet  death 
would  be  preferable  to  the  shame  and  reproach 

that  await  her  among  relatives  and  friends.     It 
L 


146 

will  not  avail  her  to  keep  the  vow  which  dooms 
her  to  live  single:  she  has  renounced  her  will,  and 
made  herself  a  passive  mass  of  clay  in  the  hands 
of  a  superior.     Perhaps  slie  has  promised  to  prac- 
tise austerities  which  cannot  he  performed  out  of 
the  convent — never  to  taste  meat,  if  her  life  were 
to  depend  on  the  use  of  substantial  food — to  wear 
no  linen — to  go  unhosed  and  unshod  for  life; — all 
Ihese  and  many  other  hardships  make  part  of  the 
various  rules  which  Rome  has  confirmed  with  her 
sanction.     Bitter  harrassing  remorse  seizes  the 
wavering  mind  of  the  recluse,  and  even  a  yielding 
thought  towards  liberty,  assumes  the  character  of 
sacrilege.     Nothing  short  of  rebellion  against  the 
church  that  has  burnt  the  mark  of  slavery  into  her 
soul,  can  liberate  an  English  nun.    Whereto  could 
she  turn  her  eyes  ?     Her  own  parents  would  dis- 
own her;  her  friends  would  slirink  from  her  as  if 
her  breath  wafted  leprosy:  she  would  be  haunted 
hy  priests  and  their  zealous  emissaries;  and,  like 
her  sister  victims  of  superstition  in  India,  be  made 
to  die  of  a  broken  heart,  if  slie  refused  to  return  to 
the  burning  pile  from  which  she  had  fled  in  fran- 
tic fear. 

Suppose  that  the  case  I  have  described  were  of 
the  rarest  occurrence:  suppose  that  but  one  nun 


147 

in  ten  thousand  wished  vehemently  for  that  liber- 
ty which  she  had  forfeited,  by  a  few  words,  in  one 
moment:  what  law  of  God  {I  will  ask)  has  entitled 
the  Roman  church  thus  to  expose  even  one  hu- 
man creature  to  dark  despair  in  this  life,  and  a 
darker  prospect  in  the  next?  Has  the  Gospel  re- 
commended perpetual  vows?  Could  any  thing 
but  a  clear  and  positive  injunction  of  Christ  or 
his  apostles  justify  a  practice  beset  with  dangers 
of  this  magnitude?  Is  not  the  mere  possibility  of 
repenting  such  vows  a  reason  why  they  should  be 
strictly  forbiddeni  And  yet  they  are  laid  on  al- 
most infants  of  both  sexes.  Innocent  girls  of  six- 
teen are  lured  by  the  image  of  heroic  virtue,  and 
a  pretended  call  of  their  Saviour,  to  promise  they 
know  not  what,  and  make  engagements  for  a 
Avhole  life  of  which  they  have  seen  but  the  dawn! 
To  what  paltry  shifts  and  quibbles  will  not  Ro- 
man Catholic  writers  resort  to  disguise  the  cruelty 
of  this  practice!  Nuns  are  described  as  super-hu- 
man beings,  as  angels  on  earth,  without  a  thought 
or  w4sh  beyond  the  walls  of  their  convents.  The 
effects  of  habit,  of  religious  fear,  of  decorum, 
which  prevented  many  of  the  French  nuns  from 
casting  off  the  veil,  at  a  period  when  the  revolu- 


148 

tioiiary  storm  had  struck  awe  into  every  breaslj 
are  construed  into  a  proof  of  the  unvariableness 
of  purpose  which  follows  the  religious  profession. 
4re  nuns,  indeed,  so  invariably  happy  ?  Why, 
then,  are  they  insulted  by  their  spiritual  rulers 
by  keeping  them  under  the  very  guards  and  pre- 
cautions, w  hich  magistrates  employ  to  secure  ex- 
ternal good  behaviour  among  the  female  inmates 
of  prisons  and  penitentiaries? — Would  the  nuns 
continue,  during  their  lives,  under  the  same  pri- 
vations, were  they  at  liberty  to  resume  the  laical 
state?  Why,  then,  are  they  bound  fast  with 
awful  vows  ?  Why  are  they  not  allowed  to  offer 
up,  day  by  day,  the  free-will  offering  of  their  souls 
and  bodies? 

The  reluctant  nuns,  you  say,  are  few.— -Yain, 
unfeeling  sophistry!  First  prove  that  vows  are 
recommended  on  divine  authority,  that  Christ 
has  authorized  the  use  of  force  and  compulsion  to 
ratify  them  when  they  are  made;  and  then  you 
may  stop  your  ears  against  the  complaints  of  a 
few  sufferers.  But  can  millions  of  submissive,  or 
even  willing  recluses,  atone  for  the  despair  of  those 
few?  You  reckon,  in  indefinite  numbers,  those 
that  in  France  did  not  avail  themselves  of  the 


149 

levolutioiiary  laws.     You  should  rather  inquire 
how  many,  who,  before  the  revolution,  appeared 
perfectly  contented  in  their  cloistral  slavery,  over- 
came every  religious  fear,  and  flew  into  the  arms 
of  a  husband  as  soon  as  they  could  do  it  w  ith  im- 
punity.    Two  hundred  and  ten  7iuns  were  secu- 
larized in  Spain  during  the  short-lived  reign  of 
the  Cortes.^     Were  these  helpless  beings  happy 
ill  their  former  durance?     What    an   appalling 
number  of  less  fortunate  victims  might  not  be 
made  out  by  averaging,  in  tlie  same  proportion, 
the  millions  of  females  who,  since  the  establish- 
ment of  convents,  have  surrendered  their  liberty 
into  the  hands  of  Rome! 

Cruel  and  barbarous,  indeed,  must  be  the  bi- 
gotry or  the  policy  w  hich,  rather  than  }  ield  on  a 
point  of  discipline,  sees  with  indifference  even  the 
chance,  not  to  say  the  existence,  of  such  evils.  To 
place  the  most  sensitive,  innocent,  and  ardent 
minds  under  the  most  horrible  apprehensions  of 
spiritual  and  temporal  punishment,  without  the 
clearest  necessity;  is  a  refinement  of  cruelty  w  hich 
has  few  examples  among  civilized  nations.     Yet 

*  Report  of  the  minister  Garelli,  laid  before  the  Cortes^ 
1st  of  March,  1822. 
L  2 


150 

the  scandal  of  defection  is  guarded  against  by 
fears  that  would  crush  stouter  hearts,  and  distract 
less  vivid  imaginations,  than  those  of  timid  and 
sensitive  females.  Even  a  temporary  leave  to 
quit  the  convent  for  the  restoration  of  decaying 
health  is  seldom  given,  and  never  applied  for  but 
by  such  nuns  as  unhappiness  drives  into  a  dis- 
regard of  public  opinion.  I  saw  my  eldest  sister, 
at  the  age  of  two-and-twenty,  slowly  sink  into  the 
grave  within  the  walls  of  a  convent;  whereas, 
had  she  not  been  a  slave  to  that  church  which 
has  been  a  curse  to  me;  air,  amusement,  and 
exercise  might  have  saved  her.  I  saw  her  on  her 
deathbed.  I  obtained  that  melancholy  sight  at 
the  risk  of  bursting  my  heart,  when,  in  my  ca- 
pacity of  priest,  and  at  her  own  request,  I  heard 
her  last  confession.  Ah!  when  shall  I  forget 
the  mortal  agony  with  which,  not  to  disturb  the 
dying  moments  of  that  truly  angelic  being,  I  sup- 
pressed my  gushing  tears  in  her  presence;  the 
choking  sensation  with  which  I  forced  the  words 
of  absolution  through  my  convulsed  lips;  the 
faltering  steps  with  which  I  left  the  convent 
alone,  making  the  solitary  street  where  it  stood 
re-echo  the  sobs  I  could  no  longer  contain! 


151 

I  saw  my  dear  sister  no  more;  but  another  was 
left  me,  if  not  equal  in  talents  to  the  eldest  (for 
I  have  known  few  that  could  be  considered  her 
equals),  amiable  and  good  in  no  inferior  degree. 
To  her  I  looked  up  as  a  companion  for  life.  But 
she  had  a  heart  open  to  every  noble  impression — = 
and  such,  among  Catholics,  are  apt  to  be  misled 
from  the  path  of  practical  usefulness,  into  the 
wilderness  of  visionary  perfection.  At  the  age 
of  twenty  she  left  an  infirm  mother  to  the  care  of 
servants  and  strangers,  and  shut  herself  up  in  a 
convent,  where  she  was  not  allowed  to  see  even 
the  nearest  relations.  With  a  delicate  frame, 
requiring  every  indulgence  to  support  it  in  health, 
she  embraced  a  rule  which  denied  her  the  com- 
forts of  the  lowest  class  of  society.  A  coarse 
woollen  frock  fretted  her  skin,-  her  feet  had  no 
covering  but  that  of  shoes  open  at  the  toes,  that 
they  might  expose  them  to  the  cold  of  a  brick 
floor;  a  couch  of  bare  planks  was  her  bed,  and  an 
unfurnished  cell  her  dwelling.  Disease  soon 
filled  her  conscience  with  fears;  and  I  had  often 
to  endure  the  torture  of  witnessing  her  agonies 
at  the  confessional.  I  left  her,  when  I  quitted 
Spain,  dying  much  too  slowly  for  her  only  chance 


152 

oi'  relief.  I  wept  bitterly  for  her  loss  two  years 
after;  yet  I  could  not  be  so  cruel  as  to  wish  her 
alive. 


LETTER  VI. 

Romey  the  enemy  of  mentalimprovement:  the  direct 
tendency  of  her  Prayer-hook,  the  Breviary,  to 
cherish  credulity  and  adulterate  Christian  virtue* 

I  COULD  not  connect  tlie  subject  of  my  prece- 
ding Letter  with  any  other,  without  doing  the 
greatest  violence  to  the  overpowering  feelings 
which  the  recollection  of  celibacy  and  monachism, 
never  fail  to  raise  in  me.  I  now^  proceed  to  show 
the  natural  opposition  which  exist  between  the 
spiritual  power  assumed  by  the  church  of  Rome, 
and  the  improvement  of  the  human  understand- 
ing. After  this,  I  shall  close  my  subject  with 
numerous  proofs  of  her  disregard  of  trutli,  in  the 
dissemination  of  a  timid,  superstitious,  and  cre- 
dulous spirit,  the  best  security  of  her  influence 
among  mankind. 

The  long  list  of  illustrious  writers,  members 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion,  with  which 
the  fii^st  part  of  my  charge  w  ill  be  met,  is  well 
known  to  me.      I  would  allow  that  list  to  be 


154+ 

doubled :  I  would  grant  every  one  of  your  boasted 
autbors  tbe  wbole  weiglit  of  learning  and  abili- 
ties whicb  you  allot  to  tbem  by  your  own  scale 
of  merit;  yet  it  would  remain  to  be  proved,  tbat 
vigour  of  mind  and  comprebensiveness  of  knowl- 
edge were,  in  sucb  instances,  attained  in  accord- 
ance w^tb  tbe  influence  of  tbe  Roman  Catbolic 
Cburcb,  and  not,  as  I  am  ready  to  sbow,  in  tbe 
very  teetb  of  its  spirit.  Tbe  resources  of  tbe 
buman  mind,  wben  once  in  motion  after  knowl- 
edge, are  innumerable.  Fear  and  restraint  may 
force  it  into  devious  and  crooked  patbs,  but  not 
witbout  injury  to  its  moral  qualities;  but  no 
power  on  eartb  can  prevent  tbe  exertion  of  its 
activity. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  tbe  invariable  accura- 
cy witb  wbicb  certain  principles,  true  or  false, 
wdll  work;  and  bow  perfectly  analogous  tbeir  ef- 
fects will  be  wiien  applied  to  tbe  most  different 
objects.  We  see  tbe  assumption  of  supernatural 
infallibility,  gradually  leading  tbe  Popes  to  at- 
tempt tbe  subjection  of  all  Cbristian  powers.  A 
criminal  ambition  migbt  often  mix  in  tbeir  po- 
litical plans  and  views;  but  tbe  impulse  wbicb 
tbreatened  tbe  tbrones  of  Europe,  was  indepen- 


155 

dent  of  the  individual  temper  of  the  popes.      Tiie 
mildest,  humblest  individual,   believing  himself 
an  infallible  guide  to  salvation,  must  have  consi- 
dered  the    removal   of  every   obstacle   to   that 
paramount  object,   a  part,   not  only  of  his  pri- 
vilege,   but   his  duty.        He   would,    therefore, 
strive  to  reduce  all  human  power,   so  as  to  suit 
his  views  of  spiritual  rule*     The  declaration  that 
Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  would  not 
prevent  a  conscientious  Pope  from  checking  any 
temporal  pov\er,   vshich  he  conceived  to  oppose 
the  interests  of  the  next.     On  the  same  grounds, 
and  from  the  very  same  principle,  has  Rome  been, 
at  all  times,  the  declared  enemy  of  mental  inde- 
pendence.      She,   it  is  true,    confines   l:er   open 
claims,  in  tliis  case,  to  points  of  Clmstian  faith, 
as  to  spiritual  supremacy  in  the  former.     But  re- 
move opposition  in  both,   and  you  will  see  her 
become  as  great  a  tyrant  over  the  human  intel- 
lect, as  she  was  at  one  time  over  the  governments 
of  Christendom.      There  is,  in  fact,   a  greater 
connexion    between   the    learned   and   scientific 
opinions  of  men  and  their  religious  tenets,  than 
between  moral  practice  and  civil  allegiance. — 
Hence,  the  rights  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 


156 

to  prescribe  limits  to  the  mind  are  still  openly 
contended  for,  while  the  indirect  dominion  of  the 
popes  over  Christian  kings  and  their  people,  is 
only  timidly  whispered  within  the  walls  of  the 
Vatican.  / 

But  how  does  it  happen  that  Italy  and  France 
have  produced  men  of  extraordinary  eminence, 
notwithstanding  their  mental  subjection  to  Rome? 
—I  might  answer  this  question  by  another:  How^ 
is  it  that  the  talent  of  Spain  and  Portugal  has 
been  rendered  abortive? — The  tendency  of  moral 
as  well  as  physical  agents  must  be  estimated,  not 
by  that  which  tliey  fail  to  affect,  but  by  the  con- 
dition of  what  is  fairly  submitted  to  their  action. 
Will  you  have  an  adequate  notion  of  the  fetters 
laid  by  Rome  upon  the  human  mind?  examine  the 
intellect  of  such  as  wear  them  really,  not  osten- 
sibly. Would  you  ascertain  the  true  practical 
consequences  of  any  law?  observe  its  results, 
where  it  is  not  eluded.  The  Roman  Catholic  re- 
straints on  the  understanding,  have  been  and  arc 
still  actively  enforced  in  Spain;  whereas  the 
weakness  of  the  papal  government  has  never 
been  able  to  put  the  Italian  inquisitions  into  full 
activity.      France   was  always  fi-ee  from  that 


157 

scourge;  and  the  confinement  of  a  few  authors  to! 
the  Bastille,  was  a  poor  substitute  for  the  Autos- 
da-Fe  of  the  unfortunate  Spanish  Peninsula. 

But  has  not  the  influence  of  Roman  Catholic 
infallibility,  even  in  those  less  oppressed  coun- 
tries, disturbed  the  best  efforts  of  the  human  in- 
tellect, closed   up  many   of  the  direct  roads  to 
knowledge,  and  forced  ingenuity  to  skulk  in  the 
pursuit  of  it  like  a  thief  ?      Sound  the  antiquari- 
an,  the  astronomer,  the  natural  philosopher  of 
Italy,-  and  the  characteristic  shrug  of  their  shoul- 
ders will  soon  tell  you  that  they  have  gone  the  full 
stretch  of  the  chain  they  are  forced  to  wear — 
What  if  the  chain  be  already  snapt  at  every  link, 
and  kept  together  by  threads?     Reckon,  if  you 
can,  the  struggles,  the  sighs,  the  artifices,  the 
perjuries  which  have  brought  it  to  that  state. — 
Look  at  Galileo  on  his  knees:  see  the  commenta- 
tors of  Newton  prefixing  a  declaration  to  his  im- 
mortal Principia,  in  which,  by  a  solemn  false- 
hood, they  avoid  the  fate  of  the  unhappy  Floren- 
tine astronomer.     < 'Newton,"  say  the  great  ma- 
thematicians, Le  Seur  and  Jacquier,  assumes,  in 
his  third  book,  the  hypothesis  of  the  earth's  mo- 
tion.    The  propositions  of  that  author  could  not 
M 


158 

be  explained  except  through  the  same  hypothe- 
sis. We  have,  tlierefore,  been  forced  to  act  a 
character  not  our  own.  But  we  declare  our  sub- 
mission to  the  decrees  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs 
against  the  motion  of  the  earth."*  The  same 
sacrifice  of  sincerity  is  required  at  the  Spanish 
universities.  Science,  indeed,  has  scarcely  ever 
made  a  step  w  ithout  bowing,  with  a  lie  in  her 
mouth,  to  Roman  infallibility.  Mankind  has  to 
thank  Lord  Bacon,  as  he  might  thank  the  intel- 
lectual liberty  which  the  Reformation  allowed 
him,  for  that  burst  of  light  which  at  once  broke 
out  from  his  writings,  and  spread  the  seeds  of 
true  knowledge,  too  thick  and  wide  for  Rome  to 
smother  them.  She  had  been  able,  at  former 
periods,  to  decide  the  fate  of  philosophical  sys- 
tems according  as  they  appeared  to  favour  or  op- 
pose her  notions.  In  this  case,  however,  she  was 
both  unable  to  perceive  the  extent  of  her  danger^ 

*  Newtonus,  in  hoc  tertlo  libro,  telluris  motae  hypothesirn 
assamit.  Autoris  propositiones  aliter  explicaii  non  poteraat, 
nisi  eadem  quoque  facta  hypothesi.  Hinc  alienam  coacti 
sumus  gerere  personam.  Caeterum  latis  a  summis  pontifici- 
bus  contra  telluris  motum  decretis,  nos  obsequi  profitemur. — 
Newtoni  Principia,  vol  III.  Coloniac  Allobrogum,  1760. — 
This  declaration  was  made  in  1742. 


159 

and   to  check  tlie  simultaneous  impulse  of  the 
awakeuQcl   mind   of  Europe.      The  Council  of 
Trent,  however,  had,   a  short  time  before,  done 
every  tiling  in  its  power,   to  keep  mankind  in 
subjection  to  the  cliurch  upon  every  branch  of 
knowledge.     By  a  solemn  decree  of  that  Coun- 
cil, the  press  was  subjected  to  the  previous  cen- 
sure of  the  bishops  or  the  inquisitors  in  every 
part  of  Christendom.      It  is  not  difficult  to  con- 
ceive the  use  which  tliese  holy  umpires  of  knowl- 
edge, would  make  of  their  authority  to  check  and 
subdue  the  petuleiit  minds,^  who  dared  to  broach 
any  thing  which  jarred  with  the  principles  of 
school  philosophy  or  divinity.     But  we  need  not 
leave  this  to  conjecture:  the  censures  attached 
to  the  long  list  of  books  condemned  in  the  Indeoc 
Expnrgatorius  of  Rome,  accurately  describe  the 
extent  of  intellectual  freedom,  which  Rome  grants 
to  the  faithful  subjects  of  her  spiritual  empire. 

The  fact  that  both  popes  and  bishops  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  communion  have  often  patroniz- 
ed knowledge,  is  anxiously  brought  forward  to 

*  ^d  coercenda  petulantia  ingenia. — The  Council  of  Trent 
confirmed  the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Lateran,  which  ex- 
tends the  censure  to  all  kinds  of  books. 


160 

prove  the  existence  of  a  liberal  and  enlightened 
spirit  in  the  Roman  church.  Now,  if  tlip  conduct 
of  individuals  were  admitted  as  a  criterion  of  the 
temper  of  their  church,  it  would  be  easy  to  pro- 
duce thousands  who  have  opposed  real  knowledge 
for  every  one  that  has  promoted  its  interests.  "^ — 
Besides,  a  pope  may  be  a  patron  of  the  fine  arts, 
and  a  determined  enemy  to  philosophical  studies. 
A  cardinal  or  a  bishop  may  spend  his  savings 
and  fortune  in  the  erection  of  a  college,  with  a 
view  to  perpetuate  the  metaphysics  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  Such  will  be  found  to  be  the  bene- 
factions which  learning  has  generally  received 
from  the  members  of  the  church  of  Rome.  It  is 
true  we  owe  the  preservation  of  manuscripts  to 
the  monks,  though  it  would  be  difficult  to  enume- 
rate the  multitude  of  works  which  were  destroy- 
ed by  their  sloth  and  ignorance.  The  public 
schools  of  Europe  w  ere  endowed  by  the  liberali- 
ty of  Roman  Catholics;  but  if  either  those  that 
preserved  the  treasures  of  ancient  literature,  or 
those  who  founded  our  universities,  had  suspect- 
ed the  direction  which  the  human  mind  would 

*  Note  K. 


161 

take  from  the  excitement  of  these  mental  stimuli; 
they  would  have  doomed  poets,  orators,  and  phi- 
losophers to  the  flames,  and  flung  their  endowing 
money  into  the  sea.  I  do  not  blame  individuals 
for  partaking  the  spirit  of  their  age,  but  protest 
against  a  church  which,  having  attained  the  ful- 
ness of  strength  under  the  influence  of  the  most 
ignorant  ages,  would,  for  the  sake  of  that 
strength,  stop  the  progress  of  time,  and  reduce 
the  nineteenth  century  to  the  intellectual  stand- 
ard of  the  thirteenth.*  Moral  as  well  as  physi- 
cal beings  must  love  their  native  atmosphere;  and 
Rome  being  no  exception  to  this  law,  is  still  dai- 
ly employed  in  renovating  and  spreading  credu- 
lity, enthusiasm,  and  superstition— the  elements 
in  which  she  thrives.  The  charge  is  strong,  and 
expressed  in  strong  language;  but,  I  believe,  not 
stronger  than  the  following  proofs  will  warrant* 


*  The  inveterate  enmity  of  a  sincere  Roman  Catholic 
against  books  which  directly  or  indirectly  dissent  from  his 
churchy  is  unconquerable.  There  is  a  family  in  Eng-Iand 
who  having  inherited  a  copious  library  under  circumstances 
which  make  it  a  kind  of  heir-loom,  have  torn  out  every  leaf 
of  the  Protestant  works,  leaving"  nothing-  in  the  shelves  but 
the  covers.  This  fact  1  know  frora  the  most  unquestionable 
authority. 

M  % 


163 

^A.  Christian  church  cannot  employ  a  more 
effectual  instrument  to  fashion  and  mould  the 
minds  of  her  members,  than  the  form  of  prayer 
and  worship  w  hich  she  sanctions  for  daily  use. — 
Such  is  the  Breviary  or  Prayer-hook  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  clergy,  which,  as  it  stands  in  the 
present  day,  is  the  most  authentic  work  of  that 
kind.  In  consequence  of  a  decree  of  the  Council 
of  Trent,  Pope  Pius  V.  ordered  a  number  of 
learned  and  able  men  to  compile  the  Breviary  and 
by  his  bull,  Q^iwd  a  nobis,  July?  1566,  sanctioned 
it,  and  commanded  the  use  thereof  to  the  clergy 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  all  over  the  world. 
Clement  VIII.,  in  1602,  finding  that  the  Brevia- 
ry of  Pius  V.  had  been  altered  and  depraved; 
restored  it  to  its  pristine  state,  and  ordered, 
under  pain  of  excommunication,  that  all  future 
editions  should  strictly  follow  that  which  he  then 
printed  at  the  Vatican.  Lastly,  Urban  VIII., 
in  1631,  had  the  language  of  the  whole  work, 
and  the  metres  of  the  hymns  revised.  The  value 
which  the  church  of  Rome  sets  upon  the  Brevia- 
ry, may  be  known  from  the  strictness  with  which 
she  demands  the  perusal  of  it.  Whoever  enjoys 
any  ecclesiastical  revenue;  all  persons  of  both 


163 

sexes  who  have  professed  in  any  of  the  regular  or- 
ders;'^ all  sub-deacons,  deacons  and  priests,  are 
bound  to  repeat,  either  in  public  or  private,  the 
whole  service  of  the  day,  out  of  the  Breviary.  The 
omission  of  any  one  of  the  eight  portions  of  which 
that  service  consists,  is  declared  to  be  a  mortal 
sin,  i,  e.  a  sin  that,  unrepented,  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  exclude  from  salvation.      The   person 
guilty  of  such  an  omission,  loses  all  legal  right 
to  whatever  portion  of  his  clerical  emoluments 
is  due  for  tlie  day  or  days  wherein  he  neglected 
that  duty,  and  cannot  be  absolved  till  he  has  giv- 
en the  forfeited  sums  to  the  poor,  or  redeemed 
the  greatest  part  by  a  certain  donation  to  the 
Spanish  crusade.      Such  are  the  sanctions  and 
penalties  by  which  the  reading  of  the  Breviary  is 
enforced.     The  scrupulous  exactness  with  which 
this  duty  is  performed  by  all  who  have  not  se- 
cretly cast  off  their  spiritual  allegiance,  is  quite 
surprising.      For  more  than  twelve  years  of  my 
life,  at  a  period  when  my  university  studies  re- 

*  Some  orders  have  a  peculiar  Breviary,  with  the  appro- 
bation of  the  pope.  There  is  no  substantial  difference  be- 
tween these  monkish  Prayer-books  and  the  Breviary^  which 
is  used  by  the  great  body  of  Roman  CathoUc  clergy. 


164 

quired  uninterrupted  attention,  I  believed  myself 
bound  to  repeat  the  appointed  prayers  and  les- 
sons; a  task  which,  in  spite  of  a  rapid  enuncia- 
tion, took  up  an  hour  and  a  half  daily.  A  dispen- 
sation of  this  duty  is  not  to  be  obtained  from 
Rome  without  the  utmost  difficulty.  =*  I  never, 
indeed,  knew  or  heard  of  any  one  who  had  ob- 
tained it. 

The  Breviary,  therefore,  must  be  reckoned  the 
true  standard  to  which  the  church  of  Rome  wish- 
es to  reduce  the  minds  and  hearts  of  her  clergy, 
from  the  highest  dignitary  to  the  most  obscure 
priest.  It  is  in  the  Breviary  that  we  may  be  sure 
to  find  the  full  extent  of  the  pious  belief,  to  which 
she  trains  the  pastors  of  her  flock;  and  the  true 
stamp  of  those  virtues  w  hich  she  boasts  of  in  her 
models  of  Christian  perfection.  By  making  the 
daily  repetition  of  the  Breviary  a  paramount  du- 
ty of  the  clergy,   Rome  evidently  gives  it  the 

*  Among  the  many  charges  made  in  the  name  of  the  Pope 
by  Cardinal  Gonsalvi,  against  Baron  von  Wessenberg,  Vicar 
General  of  Constance,  is  that  he  had  granted  dispensations 
of  this  kind,  to  many  clergymen  in  his  dioeess.  This  curi- 
ous correspondence  was  published  in  London,  by  Acker- 
mann,  in  1819.  It  deserves  the  attention  of  such  as  wish  ta 
ascertain  the  temper  of  the  court  of  Rome  in  our  own  days.. 


s 


165 

preference  over  all  other  works;  and  as  far  as 
she  is  concerned,  provided  the  appointed  teacher* 
of  her  laity  read  her  own  book,  they  may  trouble 
themselves  very  little  about  others.  Nay,  should 
a  Roman  Catholic  clergyman,  as  is  often  the  case, 
be  unable  to  devote  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half 
a  day^  to  reading;  his  church  places  him  under 
the  necessity  of  deriving  his  w^hole  knowledge 
from  the  Breviary. 

Precious,  indeed,  must  be  the  contents  of  that 
privileged  volume,  if  we  trust  the  autliority  whicli 
so  decidedly  enforces  its  perusal.  There  was  a 
time  when  I  knew  it  by  heart;  but  long  neglect 
of  that  store  of  knowledge,  had  lately  left  but 
faint  traces  of  the  most  exquisite  passages  con- 
tained therein.  The  present  occasion,  however, 
has  forced  me  to  take  my  old  task-book  in  hand; 
and  it  shall  now  be  ray  endeavour  to  arrange  and 
condense  the  copious  extracts  m^de  in  my  last 
revision. 

The  office  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  was 
originally  so  contrived  as  to  divide  the  Psaltery 
between  the  seven  days  of  the  week.  Portions  of 
the  Old  Scriptures  were  also  read  alternately  with 
extracts  from  the  legends  of  the  saints,   and  th^^ 


166 

^vo^ks  of  the  fathers.  But  as  the  calendar  be- 
came crowded  with  saints,  whose  festivals  take 
precedence  of  the  regular  church  service;  little 
room  is  left  for  any  thing  but  a  few  psalms, 
which  are  constantly  repeated,  a  very  small  part 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  mere  fragments  of  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles.  The  great  and  never-end- 
ing variety  consists  in  the  compendious  lives  of 
the  saints,  of  which  I  will  here  give  some  speci- 
mens. 

In  the  first  place,  I  shall  speak  of  the  early 
martyrs,  the  spurious  records  of  whose  sufferings 
have  been  made  to  contribute  most  copiously  to 
the  composition  of  the  Breviary.  The  variety 
and  ingenuity  of  the  tortures  described,  are 
only  equalled  by  the  innumerable  miracles  which 
bafHed  the  tyrants,  whenever  they  attempted  to 
injure  the  Christians  by  any  method  but  cutting 
their  throats.  Houses  were  set  on  fire  to  burn 
the  martyrs  within:  but  the  Breviary  informs  us 
that  the  flames  raged  for  a  whole  day  and  a  night 
without  molesting  them.  Often  do  we  hear  of 
idols  tumbling  from  their  pedestals  at  the  approach 
of  the  persecuted  Christians;  and  even  the  judges 
fhemselves  dropt  dead  when  they  attempted  to 


167 

pass  sentence.  The  wild  beasts  seldom  devour 
a  martyr  without  prostrating  themselves  before 
him;  and  lions  follow  young  virgins  to  protect 
them  from  insult.  The  sea  refuses  to  drown  those 
who  are  committed  to  its  waters;  and  when  com- 
pelled to  do  that  odious  service,  the  waves  general- 
ly convey  the  dead  bodies  wliere  the  Christians 
may  preserve  them  as  relics.  On  one  occasion  a 
pope  is  thrown  into  the  Lake  Moeotis,  with  an 
anchor  which  the  cautious  infidels  had  tied  round 
his  neck,  for  fear  of  the  usual  miraculous  floating: 
the  plan  succeeded,  and  the  pope  was  drowned. 
But  the  sea  was  soon  after  observed  to  recede 
three  miles  from  the  shore,  where  a  temple  appear- 
ed, in  which  the  body  of  the  martyr  had  been  pro- 
vided with  a  marble  sarcophagus.* 


^  "Clemens....a  Trajano  imperatore  releg-atus  est  trans 
Mare  Ponticum  in  solitudinem  urbis  Cherson:e,  in  qua  duo 
millia  Christian orum  reperit.  .qui  cum  in  eruendis  etsecandis 
marmoribus  aquae  penuria  laborarent,  Clemens  facta  oratione 
in  vicinum  collem  ascendit;  in  cujus  jug-o  vidit  Ag-num  dextro 
pede  fontem  aquae  dulcis,  qui  inde  scaturiebat  attingentem, 
ubi  omnes  sitim  expleverunt;  eoque  miraculo  multi  infideles 
ad  Christ)  fidem  conversi,  dementis  etiam  sanctitatem  vene- 
rare  coeperunt:  quibus  concitatus  Trajanus,  misit  illuc  qui 
Clementem,  alligata  ad  ejus  collum  anchora,  in  profundum  de- 
jicerent.      Quod  cum   factum  esset,   Christiania  ad  littus 


168 

Tlicre  is  a  good  deal  of  romantic  interest  in  the 
history  of  Cyprian  and  Justina.  The  former  be- 
ing a  heathen  majician,  who  to  that  detestable  art 
joined  a  still  more  infamous  occupation;  engaged 
to  put  a  young  man  in  possession  of  Justina,  a 
Christian  virgin.  For  this  purpose  he  employed 
the  most  potent  incantations,  till  the  devil  was 
forced  to  confess  that  he  had  no  power  over  Chris- 
tians. Upon  this,  Cyprian  very  sensibly  conclu- 
ded, that  it  w  as  better  to  be  a  Christian  than  a 
sorcerer.  The  readers  of  romance  may,  after 
this,  expect  every  sort  of  incident  except  a  mar- 
riage, which  none  hut  inferior  saints  ever  con- 
tract; and  from  which  all  must  extricate  them- 
selves before  they  can  be  in  a  fair  way  of  obtain- 
ing a  place  in  the  calender.  Cyprian  and  Justina 
being  accused  before  the  Roman  judge,  are, 
liowever,  fried  together,  in  a  caldron  of  melted 
^^pitch,  fat,  and  wax,"  f^om  which  they  come 
out  quite  able  to  be  carried  to  Nicomedia,  where 
they  are  put  to  deatli  by  the  almost  infallible 

orantibiis,  mare  ad  tria  milliaria  recesslt;  eoque  ilU  acce- 
dentes,  xdiculam  marmoream  in  templi  formam,  et intus arcain 
lapideam,  ubi  Martyris  corpus  conditum  erat,  et,  juxta  illud, 
anchoram  qua  mersiis  fuerat,  invenerunt." 


169 

means  of  the  sword  or  the  axe.  I  say  almestf 
because  I  find  an  instance  where  even  this  method 
had  nearly  disappointed  the  persecutors.  That 
happened  in  the  case  of  St.  Cecilia.  This  saint, 
of  musical  celebrity,  having  been  forced  to  marry 
a  certain  Valerius,  cautioned  most  earnestly  her 
bridegroom  to  avert  from  liimself  the  vengeance 
of  an  angel  v,  ho  had  the  charge  of  her  purity. 
The  good-natured  Valerius  agreed  to  forego  his 
rights,  provided  he  was  allowed  to  see  his  heaven- 
ly rival;  and  for  this  purpose  submitted  to  be  bap- 
tized. After  the  ceremony  the  angel  showed 
himself  to  Valerius,  and  subsequently  to  a  brother 
of  his,  who  had  been  let  into  the  secret.  This 
Cecilia  is  the  martyr  on  whom,  as  I  mention- 
ed before,  a  whole  house  flaming  about  her  for 
a  natural  day,  had  not  the  smallest  effect.  Even 
when  the  axe  was  employed,  the  lictor  exerted 
his  strength  in  vain  on  the  delicate  neck  of  his 
Tictim,  which  being  but  half  divided,  yet  allowed 
her  miraculously  to  live  for  three  days  more,  at 
the  end  of  which  she  fairly  died.=*^ 

*  "Cyprianus  primum  mag-us,  postea  martyr  cum  Justinam 
Christianum  virg-inem,  quam  juvenis  quidem  ardenter  amabat, 
oantionibus  ac  veneficiis  add  ejus  libidinis  assensum  allicere 
CDnaretur,  daemonem  consuluU,  quanam  id  re  consequi  posset. 


170 

After  the  romantic  miracles  of  the  early  mar- 
tyrs, I  have  to  mention  the  stories  by  which  the 

Cui  daemon  respondit,  nullam  illi  artem  processuram  adversus 
eos,  qui  vere  Christum  colerent.  Quo  responso  conmotus  Cy. 
prianus,  vehementer  dolere  coepit  vitae  superioris  institutum. 
Itaque  relictis  magicis  artibus,  se  totum  ad  Christi  domini 
fidem  convertit.  Quam  ob  causam  una  cum  virg-ine  Justina 
comprehensus  est,  et  ambo  colaphis  flag-ellisque  cxsi,  moxin 

carcerem   conjecti in  sartag-inem   plenam  ferventis  picis, 

adipis  et  cerx  injecti  sunt.  Demum  Nicomedise  securi  feri- 
untur. 

"Caecilia  virgo  Romana,  nobili  genera  nata,  a  prima  zetate 
Christianae  fidei  proeceptis  instituta,  virginitatem  suam  Deo 
vovit.  Sed  cum  postea  contra  suam  voluntatem  data  esset  in 
matrimonium  Valeriano,  prima  nuptiarum  nocte  hunc  cum  eo 
sermonem  habuit:  Ego  Valeriane,  in  Angeli  tutela  sum,  qui 
virginitatem  meum  custodit:  quare  ne  quid  in  me  committas, 
quo  ira  Dei  in  te  concitetur.  Quibus  verbis  commotus 
Valerianus,  illam  attingere  non  est  ausus:  quin  etiam  addidit, 
se  in  Christum  crediturum,  si  eum  Angelum  videret.  Cui 
Cjecilia  cum  sine  baptismo  negaret  id  fieri  posse,  incensus 
cupiditate  videndi  Angelum,  se  baptizari  velle  respondet..,. 
(Baptizatus,  et)  ad  Caeciliam  reversus,  orantem  et  cum  ea 
Angelum  divino  splendore  fulgentem,  invenit.  Quo  aspectu 
obstupefactus,  ut  primum  ex  timore  confirmatus  est,  Tibur- 
tium  t'ratrem  suum  accersit  qui  a  Caecilia  Christi  fide  imbutus 
ipse  etiam  ejusdem  Angeli  quem  frater  ejus  viderat,  as- 
pectu dignatus  est.  Uterque  autem  paulo  post  Almachio 
Praefecto,  constanter  martyrium  subit.  Qui  mox  Caeciliam 
comprehend!  imperat....eamque  in  ipsius  aedes  reductam,  in 
balneo  comburi  jussit.  Quo  in  loco  cum  diem  noctemque  itt 
fuisset,  ut  ne  flamma  quidera  illam  attingeret;  eo  immissus 
est  carnifex,  qui  ter  securi  ictam,  cum  caput  absciiiderc  no« 
potuisset,  senaivivam  reliquit,  &c.  &c.*' 


171 

Breviary  endeavours  to  support  the  extravagant 
veneratioii  for  the  Popes  and  their  see,  which 
at  all  times  has  been  the  leading  aim  of  the  Ro- 
man court.     The  most  notorious  forgeries  are, 
for  this  purpose,  sanctioned  and  consecrated  in 
her  Prayer-book.     That  these  legends  are  often 
given  in  the  words  of  those  whom  the  church  of 
Rome  csiUsfathers,  shows  the  weakness  both  of  the 
Popish  structure,  and  of  the  props  that  support 
it.     We  thus  find  the  fable  about  the  contest  be- 
tween St.  Peter  and  Simon  Magus,  before  Nero^ 
gravely  repeated  in  the  words  of  St.  Maximus. 
<*The  holy  apostles  (Peter  and  Paul)  lost  their 
lives,  he  says,  because,   among  other  miracles, 
they  also,  by  their  prayers,  precipitated  Simon 
from  the  vacuity  of  the  air.     For  Simon  calling 
himself  Christ,  and  engaging  to  ascend  to  the 
Father,  was  suddenly  raised  in  flight,  by  means 
of  his  majic  art.     At  this  moment  Peter,  bend- 
ing his  knees,  prayed  to  the  Lord,   and  by  his 
holy  prayer  defeated  the  magician's  lightness;  for 
the  prayer  readied  the   Lord   sooner  than  the 
flight;  the  right  petition  outstripped  the  unjust 
presumption.     Peter,  on  earth,  obtained  what  he 
asked,   much  before  Simon  could  reach  the  hea- 


±72 

vens  to  which  he  was  making  his  way.  Peter, 
thei'efore,  brought  down  his  rival  from  tlie  air  as 
if  he  had  held  him  by  a  rope,  and  dashing  him 
against  a  stone,  in  a  precipice,  broke  his  legs  : 
deing  this  in  scorn  of  the  fact  itself,  so  that  he 
who  but  a  moment  before,  had  attempted  to  fly, 
should  not  now  be  able  to  walk;  and  having  affect- 
ed wings,  should  want  the  use  of  his  heels."^ 

The  use  which  the  Breviary  makes  of  the 
forged  epistles  of  the  early  Popes,  known  by  the 
name  of  false  Decretals,  is  frequently  obvious  to 
those  who  are  acquainted  witli  both.     As  these 

*  "Hodierna  igitur  die  beati  Apostoli  sanguinem  profude- 
2unt.  Sed  videamus  causam  quare  ista  perpessi  sunt;  scilicet, 
quod  inter  caetera  mirabilia  etiam  magum  ilium  Simonem 
orationibus  suis  de  aeris  vacuo  praccipiti  ruina  prostraverunt. 
Cum  enim  idem  Simon  se  Christum  dicerit,  et  tanquam  filiuin 
ad  patrem  assereret  volando  se  posse  conscendere,  atque  ela- 
tus  subito  magicis  artibus  volare  coepisset;  tunc  Petrus  fixis 
g-enibus  precatus  est  Dominxim,  et  precatione  sancta  vicit 
mag-icam  levitatem.  Prior  enim  ascendit  ad  Dominum  oratio 
quam  volatus;  et  ante  pervenit  justa  petitio,  quam  iniqua  prae- 
sumptio:  ante  Petrus  in  terris  positus  obtinuit  quod  petebat, 
quam  Simon  perveniret  in  coelestibus,  quo  tendebat.  Tunc 
igitur  Petrus  velut  vinctum  ilium  de  sublimi  acre  deposuit, 
et  quodam  prxcipitio  in  saxo  elidens,  ejus  crura  confregit;  et 
hoc  in  opprobrio  facti  illius,  ut  qui  paulo  ante  volare  ten- 
taverat,  subito  ambulare  non  posset;  et  qui  pennas  assump- 
serat,  plantas  amitteret."  Septima  die  infra  Octavam  SS. 
Apost.  Petri  et  Pauli 


173 

Decretals  were  forged  about  the  eighth  century, 
with  a  view  to  magnify  the  power  of  the  Roman 
see,  nothing  in  their  contents  is  more  prominent 
than  that  object.  The  Breviary,  therefore,  never 
omits  an  opportunity  of  establishing  the  Papal  su- 
premacy by  tacit  reference  to  these  spurious  docu- 
ments. Yet  as  this  would  have  but  a  slight 
effect  upon  the  mass  of  the  faithful,  a  more  pic- 
turesque story  is  related  in  the  life  of  Pope  St. 
John. 

His  Holiness  being  on  a  journey  to  Corinth^ 
and  in  want  of  a  quiet  and  comfortable  horse, 
borrowed  one,  which  the  lady  of  a  certain  noble- 
man used  to  ride.  The  animal  carried  the  Pope 
with  the  greatest  ease  and  docility:  and,  when 
the  journey  was  over,  was  returned  to  his  mis- 
tress,- but  in  vain  did  she  attempt  to  enjoy  the 
accustomed  services  of  her  favourite.  The  horse 
had  become  fierce,  and  gave  the  lady  many  an 
^nseemly  fall:  '^asif  (says  the  authorized  record) 
feeling  indignant  at  having  to  carry  a  woman, 
since  the  Vicar  qf  Christ  had  been  on  his  back."* 

*  "Cum  el  nobilis  vir  ad  Corinthum,  equum,  quo  ejus  uxor 
mensueto  utebatur,  itineris  causa  commodasset;  factum  est 
ut  Domino  postea  remissus  equus  ita  ferox  evaderet,  ut  fr€» 


174 

The  horse  was  accordingly  presented  to  the  Pope,, 
as  unfit  to  be  ridden  by  a  less  dignified  person- 
age. 

The  standing  miracles  of  th^  city  of  Rome;  those 
miraculous  relics  which  even  at  this  moment 
are  dramng  crowds  of  pilgrims  within  its  walls, 
and  which,  in  former  times,  made  tlie  whole  of 
Europe  suppoi*t  the  idleness  of  the  Romans  at  the 
expense  of  their  devout  curiosity;  are  not  over- 
looked in  the  Praver-book  of  her  church.  Let  me 
mention  the  account  it  gives  of  St.  Peter's  chains, 
such  as  they  are  now  venerated  at  Rome.  Eu- 
doxia,  the  wife  of  Theodosius  the  younger,  being 

mitu,  et  totius  corporis  agltatione,  semper  delnceps  dominam 
expulerlt:  tanquam  indignaretur  mulierem  recipere  ex  quo 
sedisset  in  eo  Christi  vicarius."     Brev-  Rom.  die  27  Maii. 

The  Breviary,  true  to  its  plan  of  giving*  the  substance  of 
every  story  that  ever  sprang  from  the  fertile  imagination  of 
the  idle  monks,  concludes  the  life  by  stating  the  vision  of  a 
certain  hermit^  who  saw  the  soul  of  Theodoric  the  Goth; 
carried  to  hell  by  Pope  John  and  Symmachus,  through  one 
of  the  volcanos  of  the  Lipari  Islands.  "Paulo  post  meritur 
Theodoricus:  quem  quidam  eremita,  ut  scribit  Sanctus 
Gregorius,  vidit  inter  Joannem  Pontificem,  et  Symmachum 
Patricium,  quem  idem  occiderat,  demergi  in  ignem  Liparita- 
num." — This  legend  (says  Gibbon)  is  related  by  Gregory  I. 
and  approved  by  Baroniusj  and  both  the  Pope  and  CardirAl 
are  grave  doctors,  sufficient  to  establish  a  probable  opinion,'^* 
Chap.  xxxi2k.  Note  108. 


r 


175 

on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  received  as  a  pre- 
sent the  chain  with  which  St.  Peter  was  hound 
in  prison,  when  he  was  liberated  by  an  angel. 
This  chain,  set  with  jewels,  was  forwarded  by  the 
pious  empress  to  her  daughter,  then  at  Rome. 
The  young  princess,  rejoiced  with  the  gift,  showed 
the  chain  to  the  Pope,  who  repaid  the  compli- 
ment by  exhibiting  another  chain,  which  the  holy 
apostle  had  borne  under  Nero.  As,  to  compare 
their  structure,  the  two  chains  were  brought  into 
€ontact,  the  links  at  the  extremities  of  each  joined 
together,  and  the  two  pieces  became  one  uniform 
eliain.  ^ 

After  these  samples,  no  one  will  be  surprised 
to  find  in  the  same  authorized  record,  all  the  other 
supposed  miracles  which,  in  different  parts  of 
Italy,  move  daily  the  enlightened  traveller  to 
laughter  or  disgust.  The  translation  of  the  house 
of  Loretto  from  Palestine  to  the  Papal  States,  is 

*  "Cum  igitur  Pontifex  Romanam  catenam  cum  ea,  quae 
lerosolymis  allata  fuerat,  contulisset,  factum  est,  ut  iliac 
inter  se  sic  connecterentur  ut  non  dux  sed  una  catena  ab 
eodem  artifice  confecta,  esse  videretur."  In  Festo  St.  Petri 
ad  Vincula.  The  present  Pope  mentions  this  chain  as  one  of 
the  inducements  for  the  faithful  to  visit  Rome  this  year  of 
Jubilee,    S«e  the  translation  ©f  the  Proclamation,  Note  I*, 


176 

asserted  in  tlic  collect  for  that  festival;  which  he- 
ing  a  direct  address  to  the  Deity,  cannot  he  sup- 
posed to  have  heen  carelessly  compiled.*  The 
two  removals  of  that  house  hy  the  hands  of  an- 
gels, first  to  the  coast  of  Dalmatia,  and  thence, 
over  the  Adriatic,  to  the  opposite  shore,  are 
gravely  related  in  the  Lessons;  where  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  are  reminded 
that  the  identity  of  the  house  is  warranted  by 
papal  hulls,  and  a  proper  mass  and  service  pub- 
lished by  the  same  authority  for  the  annual  com- 
memoration of  that  event. 

*  "Deus,  qui  beatse  Marix  Virginis  domum  per  incarnati 
Verbi  mysterium  misericorditer  consecrasti,  eamque  in  sinu 
ecclesia  tuse  mirabiliter  coUocasti,*''  &c.  &c.  The  account  of 
the  pretended  miraculous  conveyance  of  the  house  by  the 
hands  of  the  angels  is  given  in  the  lessons:  "Ipsius  autem 
Virginis  natalis  domus  divinis  mysteriis  consecrata,  Angelo- 
rum  ministerio  ab  Infidelium  potestate,  in  Dalmatian!  prius, 
deinde  in  Agrum  Lauretanum  Picense  Provincix  translata 
fuit,  sedente  sancto  Coelestino  quinto:  eandemque  ipsarn  esse 
in  qua  Verbum  caro  factum  est,  et  habitavit  in  nobis,  turn 
Pontificis  diplomatibus,  et  celeberrima  totius  Orbis  venera- 
tione,  turn  continua  miraculorum  virtute,  et  ccelestium  bene- 
ficiorum  gratia,  comprobatur.  Quibus  permotus  Innocentius 
Duodecimus,  quo  ferventius  ergti  Matris  amantissimae  cultum 
Fidelium  memoria  excitaretur,  ejusdem  Sanctse  Domus 
Translationem  anniversaria  solemnitate  in  tota  Piceni  Provin- 
cia  veneratam,  Missa  etiam  et  Officio  proprio  celebrari  prac-. 
cepit," 


177 

it  is  rather  curious  to  obsei've  the  diflTerence  in 
the  assertion  of  Italian  and  of  French  miracles: 
the  unhesitating  confidence  with  w  hich  the  for- 
mer are  stated,  the  hypercritical  jealousy  which 
appears  in  the  narrative  of  the  latter.  The  walk 
of  St.  Dionysius,  with  his  own  head  in  his  hands, 
from  Paris  to  the  site  of  the  present  abbey  of  St. 
Denis,  is  given  only  as  a  credible  report  ^*De 
quo  illud  memorise  proditum  est,  abscissum  suum 
caput  sustulisse,  et  progressum  ad  duo  millia 
passuum  in  manibus  gestasse."=^  The  French, 
indeed,  with  their  liberties  of  the  Galilean  church, 
have  never  been  favourites  at  Rome^  but  all  is 
certainty  in  the  accounts  of  Italian  worthies.— 
Witness  the  renowned  St.  Januarius,  whose  ex- 
traordinary miracles,  both  during  his  life  under 
Diocletian,  and  in  our  own  days,  are  stated  with 
equal  confidence  and  precision.  The  Saint,  we 
are  told,  being  thrown  into  a  burning  furnace, 
came  out  so  perfectly  unliurt,  that  not  e^  en  his 

*  The  Breviary,  however,  does  not  betray  such  hesitation 
as  to  the  works  of  the  said  Dionysius,  the  Areopag-ite — the 
most  barefaced  forg'ery  which  ever  was  foisted  on  the  credu- 
lity of  the  world.  Libros  scripsit  admirabilest  ac  plane  cale&- 
iesj  de  divhiis  nominibits,  de  coslesti  et  Ecclesiasiica  IlierarchiOt 
de  mysticn  Theolog^iay  et  alios  qnosdam. 


178 

clothes  or  hair  were  singed.  The  next  day  all 
the  wild  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre  came  crouch- 
ing to  his  feet.  I  pass  over  the  other  ancient 
performances  of  Januarius,  to  show  the  style  in 
which  his  wonderful  works,  after  death,  are  giv- 
en. His  body,  for  instance,  on  one  occasion,  ex- 
tinguished the  flames  of  Vesuvius.*  This  is  no 
miracle  upon  vague  report,  but  one  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  Breviary,  deserves  a  peculiar  re- 
membrance. Next  comes  that '  'noble  miracle" — > 
prsedariim  illud — ^the  liquefaction  of  Januarius's 
blood,  whicli  takes  place  every  year  at  Naples. 
The  usual  state  of  the  blood,  as  a  coagulated 
mass,  and  its  change  into  a  bubbling  fluid,  are 
circumstantially  described,  as  might  be  expected, 
from  historians,  who  convey  the  most  minute  in- 

*  "In  ardentem  fornacem  conjectus  ita  lllsesus  evasit  ut  ne 
Testimentum  aut  capilium  quidem  flamma  violaverit.  (Ferae) 
Naturalis  feritatis  oblitae,  ad  Januarii  pedes  se  prostravere. — 
In  primis  memorandum  quod  erumpentes  dim  e  monte 
Vesuvio  flammarum  globos,  nee  vicinis  modo,  sed  longinquis 
etiam  regionibus  vastitatis  metum  afferentes,  extinxit. — 
Prseclarum  illud  quoque,  quod  ejus  sanguis,  qui  in  ampulla 
vitrea  concretusasservatur,  cum  in  conspecUi  capitis  ejusdem 
martyris  poniuir,  admirandum  in  modum  coliiquefieri,  et 
ebullire,  perinde  atque  recens  effusus,  ad  hac  usque  tempe- 
ra cernitur,** 


179 

t'ormation,  even  about  the  clothes  and  hair  of  a 
martyr  tliat  died  fifteen  hundred  years  ago.  The 
liquefaction,  indeed,  with  all  its  circumstances, 
they  must  liave  witnessed  tliemsehes,  or  derived 
their  information  concerning  it  from  thousands 
of  Neapolitan  witnesses. 

And  here  let  me  observe  by  the  w^ay,  the  ex- 
traordinary liberality  of  his  church  upon  these 
points,  which  Mr.  Butler  sets  forth  to  the  admi- 
ration of  the  world.  <^A  person,"  he  tells  us, 
*'may  disbelieve  every  other  miracle  (except  those 
which  are  related  in  the  Old  or  the  New  Testa- 
ment,) and  may  even  disbelieve  the  existence  of 
the  persons  through  whose  intercession  they  are 
related  to  have  been  wrought,  without  ceasing  to 
be  a  Roman  Catholic."*  We  must,  however, 
exempt  from  this  very  ample  privilege  those  who 
thus  solemnly  publish  the  miracles  themselves,  or 
their  honesty  would  certainly  be  placed  in  a 
strange  predicament.  Still,  by  a  stronger  rea- 
son, we  must  suppose  them  perfectly  convinced  of 
the  reality  of  that  annual  wonder,  w  hich  for  ages 
has  been  repeated  under  their  eyes.     How,  then, 

•  Rook  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  p.  4« 


ISO 

can  they  be  so  insensible  to  the  forlrirn  condition 
of  heretics  and  unbelievers,  as  not  to  allow  a 
close  inspection  of  that  undeniable  proof  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith?  The  present  Pope  invites 
us  to  see  the  manger  where  the  infant  Saviour  lay 
at  Bethlehem.  Would  it  not  be  more  charitable 
to  allow'  one  of  our  chemists  to  view  the  blood  of 
St.  Januarius,  and  observe  its  cliange — not  sur- 
rounded by  priests,  candles,  and  the  smoke  of 
frankincense, — and  thus  convert  us  all  at  one 
stroke  ? 

The  world  is  full  of  Roman  Catholic  miracles, 
in  the  incorrupt  bodies  of  saints,  w  hich  lie  on  the 
altars,  inclosed  in  gold  and  silver  cases.  I  have 
often  performed  high  mass  before  that  of  St. 
Ferdinand,  which  is  preserved  in  the  royal  chapel 
at  Seville;  and,  though  a  member  of  the  chapter 
to  whose  charge  the  Spanish  kings  have  intrust- 
ed their  holy  ancestor,  I  could  never  obtain  a  dis- 
tinct view  of  the  body,  wiiich  the  church  of  Rome 
declares  to  be  incorrupt.^  On  certain  days  the 
front  of  a  massive  silver  sarcophagus  is  removed, 

*  "Jacet  ejus  corpus  incorruptum  adhuc  post  quatuor  saecu- 
la  in  templo  maximo  Hispalensi,  honorificentissimo  inclusura 
sepulchre."    Breviarum  Rom,  in  festo  Sancti  Ferdinandi. 


181 

when  a  gold  and  glass  chest  is  seen,  containing 
something  like  a  man  covered  with  splendid  robes. 
But  the  multitude  of  candles  on  the  altar,  and 
the  want  of  light  from  behind,  prevent  a  distinct 
view  of  the  objects  within.  Once,  when  the  mul- 
titude was  thronging  the  chapel,  a  lady  of  high 
rank,  who  had  applied  to  me  for  a  closer  view 
than  was  allowed  to  the  crowd,  was  furnished 
with  a  stool  to  stand  upon  a  level  with  the  body. 
To  gratify  at  once  her  and  my  own  curiosity,  I 
took  a  candle  from  the  altar,  and  endeavoured  to 
counteract  the  reflection  of  the  glass,  by  throwing 
in  the  light  obliquely.  One  of  our  inferior  cler- 
gy, tlie  sacristan,  whose  duty  it  was  to  stand 
near  the  saint  in  his  surplice,  seeing  what  I  was 
about,  snatched  the  candle  from  my  hand,  with  a 
rudeness  which  nothing  but  his  half  roguish,  half 
holy  zeal,  could  have  pi'ompted.  He  pretended 
to  be  alarmed  for  the  pane  of  glass;  but  I  more 
than  suspect  that  he  knew  the  incorruptibility  of 
the  saint  could  not  bear  inspection.  The  head, 
which  I  distinctly  saw,  was  a  mere  skull,  with 
something  like  painted  parchment  holding  up  the 
lower  jaw.  A  similar  covering  seems  to  have 
O 


18a 

been  laid  on  the  right  foot,  wliich  projects  out  ot 
the  royal  robes. 

When  the  greatest  miracle  of  Christianity,  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  was  performed  for  the  con- 
version of  men  to  the  gospel,  the  Saviour  himself 
offered  the  marks  of  his  wounds  to  the  close  in- 
spection of  a  doubting  disciple.  The  church  of 
Rome  follows  a  different  plan  in  the  use  of  the 
multiplied  miracles  of  which  she  boasts.  She  has 
no  compassion  for  men  who  will  credit  only  their 

sia:ht  and  touch. 

f 
Historical  miracles  are  safe  from  this  ti^ouble- 

some  curiosity;  and  to  these  I  must  return  after 
my  digression.  Let  us  take  a  few  specimens  from 
those  of  the  early  ages  of  monachism.  Among 
these  hardly  any  narrative  will  be  found  more 
curious  than  that  which  the  Breviary  copies  from 
Saint  Jerome,  as  a  record  of  the  life  of  Paul,  the 
first  Hermit.  Paul,  we  are  told,  retired  to  a  cave 
in  the  desert  parts  of  the  Thebais,  where  he  lived 
from  early  youth  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and 
ten.  Being  near  his  death,  Anthony,  another 
Egyptian  Anchorite,  paid  him  a  visit  by  a  super- 
natural command  from  heaven.  Their  nameg 
being,  in  the  same  manner,  i-evealed  to  each  other^ 


183 

they  met,  for  the  first  time,  with  the  familiarity 
of  old  acquaintance.  While  they  were  talking 
about  spiritual  matters,  a  raven  dropped  a  loaf  of 
bread  at  the  feet  of  Paul.  * 'Thanks  be  to  heaven," 
exclaimed  the  father  of  hermits;  **it  is  now  sixty 
years  since  I  received  half  a  loaf  daily  in  this 
manner:  to-day  my  allowance  has  been  doubled. '^ 
On  the  morrow  Paul  requested  his  friend  Anthony 
to  return  for  a  cloak,  which,  having  belonged  to 
Saint  Athanasius,  he  wished  to  have  as  his  wind- 
ing-sheet. Anthony  was  coming  back  with  the 
cloak,  when  he  saw^  the  soul  of  Paul  going  up 
into  heaven  surrounded  by  the  holy  company  of 
the  prophets  and  apostles.  In  the  cave  he  found 
the  corpse  with  crossed  legs,  erected  head,  and 
the  arms  raised  above  it.  He  was,  however,  at  a 
loss  how  to  dig  a  grave,  being  also  an  old  man  of 
ninety,  and  having  no  spade  or  any  instrument  of 
that  kind.  In  this  distress  he  saw  two  lions 
hurrying  towards  him  from  the  interior  of  the 
desert.  The  lions,  in  the  best  manner  they  could, 
gave  him  to  understand  that  they  meant  him  no 
harm,  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  much  affected 
by  the  death  of  Paul.  Tiiey  then  set  to  work 
w  ith  their  claws,  and  liaving  made  a  hole  of  suf- 


184 

ficient  size  to  contain  the  dead  body,  quietly  and 
decently  retired  to  their  fastnesses.  Anthony  took 
possession  of  Paul's  coat,  which  was  made  of  palm 
leaves  like  a  basket,  and  wore  it  regularly  as  a 
holiday-dress  on  Easter  and  Whitsunday.  =^ 

The  life  of  Saint  Benedict,  the  great  propagator 
fit  monastic  life  in  the  sixth  century,  has  fur- 
nished the  Breviary  with  several  curious  miracles. 
One  of  the  first  among  the  wonders  he  wrought, 
does  not  give  a  favourable  idea  of  the  character  of 
I'eligious  associations  at  that  period.  Saint  Bene- 
dict, having  undertaken  the  government  of  a  cer- 
tain monastery,  where  he  wished  to  introduce  a 

*  **Cumque  ad  ejus  cellam  pervenisset,  invenit  genibus 
complicatis,  erecta  cervice,  extensisque  in  altum  manibus, 
corpus  exanime:  quod  pallia  obvolvens,  hymnosque  etpsalmos 
ex  Christiana  tradition edecantans,  cum  sarculum,  quo  terram 
foderet  non  haberet,  duo  leones  ex  interiore  eremo,  rapido 
cursu  ad  beati  senis  corpus  ferunter:  ut  facile  intelligeretur, 
cos,  quo  modo  poterant,  ploratum  edere;  qui  certatim  terram 
pedibus  effodientes,  foveam,  qux  hominem  commode  caperet, 
effecerunt.  Qui  cum  abiissent,  Antonius  sanctum  corpus  in 
€um  locum  intulit:  et  injecta  humo,  tumulum  ex  Christiano 
more  composuit:  tunicam  vero  Pauli,  quam  in  sportse  modum 
ex  palmcE  foliis  ille  sibi  contexuerat  secum  auferens,  eo  vestitu 
diebus  solemnibus  PaschcX  et  Pentecostes,  quoad  vixit,  usus 
esL"  Die  xv.  Januarii.— 1  give  the  original  words  only  for 
the  passages  which  might  appear  exaggerated  in  my  own 
descriptions. 


183 

more  severe  discipline  than  tlie  inmates  were  dis- 
posed to  follow,  had  a  poisoned  cup  presented  by 
the  monks.  He  would  have  fallen  a  victim  to 
their  wickedness  hut  for  the  habit  of  making  the 
sign  of  the  cross  over  every  thing  he  eat  or  drank. 
The  sign  was  no  sooner  made  than  the  cup  burst 
into  pieces  and  spilt  the  deadly  contents  on  the 
table. 

/  Saint  Benedict  is  inseparably  coupled  in  my  re- 
collection with  his  sister,  Saint  Scholastica,  who 
had  the  gift  of  working  a  peculiar  kind  of  light, 
playful  miracles,  which  our  neighbours,  the 
French,  would  probably  denominate  miracles  de 
famille*  By  one  of  these,  the  holy  nun  Scholasti- 
ca, who  paid  a  yearly  visit  to  her  brother  in  an 
outhouse  of  his  monastery,  wishing  to  keep  him  a 
whole  night  in  conversation,  and  not  being  able  to 
persuade  him,  forced  him  to  break  the  rule  which 
bound  him  to  sleep  in  his  cell.  The  manner  of 
carrying  her  point  was  simple  enough.  On  hear- 
ing  a  positive  refusal,  she  crossetl  her  hands,  laid 
them  upon  the  table,  then  reclined  her  head  upon 
them,  and  wept  profusely.  Her  tears  disturbed 
the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  which,  at  that  moment, 

was  beautiful^  and  a  violent  storm  of  thunder  and 
O  2 


186 

rain  instantly  ensued.  In  a  few  minutes  the  rivers 
overflowed  their  banks,  and  the  whole  country 
around  was  like  a  sea.  Benedict,  who  was  fa- 
miliar with  miracles,  could  not  mistake  the  cause 
of  the  storm,  and  goodnaturedly  reproached  his 
sister.  <^What  could  I  do?'*  said  she  with  a 
saintly  archness,  of  which  none  but  readers  of 
the  Breviary  could  ever  suspect  the  existence r^ 
**I  entreated  you,  and  was  refused;  I  therefore 
asked  my  God,  and  he  beared  me.  Now,  brother, 
go  if  you  can:  leave  me  and  run  away  to  your 
monastery.'*  This  playfulness  is  the  moi'e  sur- 
prising as  the  good  lady  Scholastica  had  then 
a  certainty  of  her  approaching  death.  Benedict 
saw  her  soul,  in  the  shape  of  a  dove,  wing  up  her 
way  to  heaven  only  three  days  after  this  miracle. 
'—The  instructive  Lessons  in  which  this  is  related 
some  from  no  vulgar  pen.  They  are  portions  of 
the  Dialogues  of  Pope  Gregory  the  Great,^ 

*  Scholastica,  venerabllis  Patris  Benedict!  soror,....ad  eum 
semel  per  annum  venire  consueverat:  ad  quam  vir  Dei  non 
longe  extra  januam  in  possessione  monasterii  descendebat, 
Quadam  vero  die  venit  ex  more,  atque  ad  earn  cum  discipulis, 
venerabllis  ejus  descendit  frater,  qui  totum  diem  in  Dei  lau- 
dibus,  sanctisque  colloquiisducentes,  incumbentibus  jam  noc- 
tis  tenebris,  simul  acceperunt  cibum.    Cumque  adhuc  ad 


187 

Na  one,  however,  who  observes  the  profusion 
of  wonders  recorded  in  the  Breviary,  can  be  sur- 

mensam  sederent,  et  inter  sacra  coUoquia  tardior  se  hora  pro. 
traheret,  eadem  sanctimonialis  faemina  soror  ejus  eum  rogavit, 
dicens:  "Quaes©  te,  ut  ista  nocte  me  non  deseras,  ut  usque 
mane  de  caslestis  ritae  g-audiis  loquamur."  Cui  ille  respon- 
dit:  "Quid  est  quod  loqueris,  soror?  manere  extra  cellam 
nullatenus  possum."  Tanta  vero  erat  coeli  serenitas,  ut  nulla 
in  aere  nubes  appareret.  Sanctimonialis  autem  fsemina,  cum 
verba  fratris  neg-antis  audivisset,  insertas  digitis  manus  super 
mensam  posuit;  et  caput  in  manibus,  omnipotentem  Dominum 
rogatura,  declinavit,  Cumque  levaret  de  mensa  caput,  tanta 
corruscationis  et  tonitrui  virtus,  tantaqce  inundatio  pluviae 
erupit,  utneque  venerabilis  Benedictus,  neque  fratres  qui  cum 
eo  aderant,  extra  loci  limen,  quo  consederant,  pedem  movere 
potuerint.  Sanctimonialis  quippe  fxmina  caput  in  manibus 
declinans,  lacrymarum  fluvium  in  mensam  fuderat,  per  quas 
serenitatem  aeris  ad  pluviam  traxit.  Nee  paulo  tardius  post 
orationem  inundatio  ilia  secuta  est:  sed  tanta  fuit  convenien- 
tia  orationis,  et  inundationis,  ut  de  mensa  caput  jam  cum 
tonitru  levaret:  quatenus  unum  idemque  esset  momentum, 
et  levare  caput,  et  pluviam  deponere.  Tunc  vir  Dei,  inter 
corruscos,  et  tonitruos,  atque  ingentis  pluvise  inundationem, 
videns  se  ad  monasterium  non  posse  remeare,  coepit  conquer! 
contristatus  dicens:  "Parcat  tibi  omnipotens  Deus,  soror, 
quid  est  quod  fecisti?"  Cui  ilia  respondit:  "Ecce  rogavi  te, 
et  audire  me  noluisti;  rogavi  Dominum  meum,  et  audivit  me: 
modo  ergo,  si  potes,  egredere,  et  me  dimissa  ad  monasteri- 
um recede,"  &c.     Dei  10  Februarii. 

The  collect  for  the  feast  of  Scholastica  is  both  a  specimen 
of  the  assurance  with  which  the  church  of  Rome  circulates 
her  legends,  and  of  her  tenets  concerning  the  intercession  of 
saints.     "Deus,  qui  animam  beatse  Virginis  tux  Scholastics 


188 

prised  at  these  sportful  displays  of  supernatural 
power.  There  is  scarcely  a  saint  who  has  not 
been  honoured  by  miracles,  which  I  would  call 
ornamentaL  Celestial  meteors  have  generally 
shone  over  the  houses  where  a  future  saint  was 
born,  and  the  bells  have  rung  of  their  own  accord 
on  the  infant's  coming  to  light:^  swarms  of  bees 
settled  on  their  mouths,  and  even  built  a  honey- 
eomb  in  their  hands,  while  lying  in  the  cradle. f 
A  baby  saint  had  her  face  changed  into  a  rose 
immediately  after  birth,  that  she  might  be  called 
after  that  flower.:]:  An  angel  in  a  bishop's  robes, 
appeared  upon  the  baptismal  font,  wliere  a  future 
prelate  was  to  be  baptized. §  The  mothers  of 
these  extraordinary  beings  seldom  were  without 

ad  ostendendam  innocentlse  viam,  in  columbae  specie  coelutn 
penetrare  fecisti,  da  nobis,  ejus  meritis  et  precibus,  ita  innocen- 
ter  vivere,  ut  ad  JEterna  mereamur  gaudia  pervenire.'*  This 
is  almost  an  invariable  form  of  words  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
collects. 

*  St.  John  a  Deo;  St.  Peter  Celestinus,  and  many  others. 

f  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Peter  Nolascus,  St.  Isidore,  and  many- 
others. 

\  St.  Rose  a  Sancta  Maria. — "Vultus  infantis,  mirabiliter 
in  ros?e  effigiem  transfig-uratus,  huic  nomini  occasionem  de= 
dit."     Die  30  Aug-usti. 

^  St,  Julian  of  Cuenca. 


189 

prophetic  dreams  during  the  time  of  gestation.* 
Some  saints  performed  miracles  while  yet  in  the 
vvomh;  and  it  is  asserted  of  St.  Bridget  that,  in 
that  invisible  state,  she  saved  her  mother  from 
shipwreck,  f  These  holy  children  have  not  mi- 
frequently  spoken  when  scarcely  five  montlis  old; 
though  the  object  of  their  speeches  was  seldom  so 
important  as  that  of  St.  Philip  Beniti,  when,  at 
that  age,  he  chid  his  mother  for  sending  some 
begging  monks  empty  from  her  door.ij:  Nor  was 
this  wonder  exhibited  only  in  the  embryo-saints; 
common  every-day  babes  have  often  spoken,  to 
discover  the  hiding-places  of  that  nearly  extinct 
generation  of  men,  whom  an  impending  mitre 
drove  with  affright  into  the  fastnesses  of  deserts. 
St.  Andrew  Avellini,  for  instance,  could  not  have 
been  consecrated  Bishop  of  Fiesoie,  unless  he  had 
been  actually  hetraijed  by  the  voice  of  an  infant. § 
The  apostles,  who  had  received  the  power  of 


*  See  the  life  of  St.  Andrew  Avellini,  and  others  passim. 

f  "  Cum  adhuc  in  utero  gestaretur,  e  naufragio,  propter 
^am,  mater  erepta  est." 

±  "  Vix  enim  quintum  3etatis  mensem  ingressus,  linguam 
in  voces  mirifice  solvit,  hortatusque  fuit  matrem,  ut  Deiparze 
servis  eleemosynam  impertiret.'*     Die  23  Augusti. 

§  "  Pueri  voce  mirabiliter  loquentis  proditus.'* 


190 

working  miracles  from  Christ  himself,  for  the 
great  object  of  establishing  his  religion,  appear 
to  have  been  very  limited  in  the  use  of  their  su- 
pernatural gifts;  aiHl  never  to  have  controlled  the 
order  of  nature,  except  under  the  influence  of  that 
supernatural  impulse,  that  unhesitating  faith, 
which  being  in  itself  a  miracle,  was,  in  the  strong 
and  figurative  language  of  their  divine  Master, 
said  to  be  able  to  move  mountains.  It  is  far 
otherwise  with  the  wonder-workers  of  the  Brevi- 
ary. While  these  modern  saints  lived  on  earth, 
nature  suffered  a  daily  interruption  of  her  laws, 
and  that  often  for  their  own  personal  convenience. 
With  the  exception  of  St.  PauPs  preservation 
from  the  bite  of  the  viper,  we  do  not  find  miracu- 
lous interpositions  in  his  favour.  Indeed  tlie  ac- 
count he  gives  of  the  hardships,  dangers,  and  nar- 
row escapes  during  his  ministry,  shows  that  mi- 
racles were  not  wrought  for  his  comfort.  Mo- 
dern saints  are  more  fortunate:  Frances,  a  Ro- 
man widow,  who  enjoyed  the  familiar  view  and 
conversation  of  her  guardian  angel,  once  multi- 
plied a  few  crusts  of  bread,  so  as  to  afford  a  sub- 
stantial meal  to  fifteen  nuns,  and  fill  up  a  basket 
witli  the  fragments.     On  another  occasion  slie 


191 

allayed  their  thirst  with  a  bunch  of  miraculous 
grapes;  and  more  than  once  was  preserved  by  su- 
pernatural influence,  from  the  inconvenience  of 
getting  wet  in  the  rain,  or  even  from  tlie  stream 
of  a  river. ^  St.  Andrev/  Avellini,  retiring  home 
in  a  storm,  was  equally  preserved  from  the  effects 
of  rain.  The  benefit  of  this  miracle  was  not  only 
extended  to  his  companions,  but  the  whole  com- 
pany had  the  advantage  of  seeing  their  way  in  a 
pitch-dark  night,  by  the  radiancy  of  the  saint's 
person. f 

These  phosphoric  appearances,   as  well  as  a 

*  "Deus,  qui  beatam  Franciscam  famulam  tuani,  inter  ce- 
tera gratiae  tus  dona,  familiari  ang-eli  consuetudine  decoras- 
ti,"  &c.     Collect. 

"  Non  semel  aqux,  vel  e  cgcIo  labentes,  intactam  prorsus, 
dum  Deo  vacaret  reliquerunt.  Modica  panis  fj  ag-menta,  quae 
vix  tribus  sororibus  reficiendis  fuissent  satis,  sic  ejus  preci- 
bus  Dominus  multiplicavit,  ut  quindecim  inde  exsaturatis, 
tantum  superfuerit,  ut  canisirum  impleverit:  et  aliquando 
earumdem  sororum  extra  urbem,  mense  Januario  ligna  pa- 
rantium,  sitim,  recentis  uvze  raceniis  ex  vile  in  arbore  pen- 
dentibus  mirabiliter  obtentis,  abunde  expleverit,'*  Die  9 
Martis. 

f  "Cum  enim  intempesta  nocte  ab  audita  aegri  confessione 
domum  rediret,  ac  pluvise  ventorumque  vis  praelucentem  fa- 
cem  extinxisset,  non  solum  ipse,  cum  sociis,  inter  effusissi- 
mos  imbres  nihil  madefactus  est,  verum  etiam  inusitato  splen- 
dore,  e  suo  corpore  mirabiliter  emicante,  sociis  inter  densis- 
shnas  tenebras  iter  monsti'avit.'*     Die  10  Novembris. 


19^ 

supernatural  tendeucy  to  fly  upwards,  are  so  com- 
mon among  saints  of  the  last  four  or  five  centu- 
ries, that  it  would  be  tedious  to  mention  indivi- 
dual instances.  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara,  a  saint 
very  remarkable  for  antigravitating  qualities,^ 
exhibited  a  very  curious  phenomenon  in  another 
storm.  A  tremendous  fall  of  snow  came  on  as 
he  was  returning  at  night  to  the  convent.  Dis- 
tressed for  shelter,  he  entered  a  building,  the  most 
unfit  for  the  occasion,  as  it  wanted  a  roof  to  stop 
the  snow.  But  the  walls  which  still  remained 
saved  half  the  trouble  to  the  miraculous  agent  em- 
ployed on  this  occasion.  The  snow  congealed  in- 
to a  solid  roof,  and  completed  the  building  in  which 
Peter  passed  the  night,  f  The  cooling  properties 
of  this  structure  must  have  been  highly  welcome 
to  a  man,  whose  charittj  (I  relate  what  I  find  in 
the  Breviary)  so  used  to  raise  the  temperature  of 
his  blood,  that  it  obliged  him  to  break  out  from  his 
cell  and  run  distracted  into  the  fields.  ^ 

•  "  In  aera  frequenter  sublatus,  miro  fulgore  corruscare 
visus  est.** 

f  "  Cum  noctu  iter  ag-eret,  densa  nive  cadente,  dirutam 
domum  sine  tecto  ingressus  est,  eique  nix  in  aere  pendula 
pro  tecto  fuit,  ne  illius  copia  suffbcaretur  '• 

t  "  Charitas  Dei  et  proximi  in  ejus  corde  diffusa,  tantum 
quandoque  escitabat  incendium,  ut  e  cellae  augustiis  m  aper- 


1$3 

The  repetition  of  miracles  is  a  matter  of  some 
curiosity,  as  it  might  be  expected  that  powers 
which  baffle  the  laws  of  nature,  would  display  an 
inexhaustible  variety.  Yet  we  find  the  earliest 
miracles  repeated,  and  many  occur  regulai'ly  in 
the  life  of  every  saint.  Of  the  latter  kind  are 
the  luminous  appearance  of  their  faces;  the  mul- 
tiplication or  creation  of  food;  living  without  sus- 
tenance; conversing  with  angels;  emitting  sweet 
effluvia  from  their  dead  bodies.  More  peculiar 
displays  of  supernatural  interference  appear, 
sometimes,  at  distant  periods.  St.  Gregory,  the 
wonder-worker  of  the  fourth  century,  fixed  his 
staff  in  the  ground,  and  it  instantly  grew  up  into 
a  tree  which  stopt  the  floods  of  the  river  Lycus. 
The  lately  mentioned  Peter  of  Alcantara  made 
also  his  staff  grow^  into  a  fig  tree,  which  the  friars 
of  his  order  have  propagated  by  cuts,  in  every 

turn  camp um  prosillre,  aerisque  refrigerio  conceptum  ardo- 
rem  temperare  cogeretur." — Another  phyeical  effect  of  chari- 
ty is  recorded  in  the  life  of  St.  Philip  Neri,  whose  chest  be- 
ing too  confined  for  the  expansive  ardour  of  that  virtue,  was 
miraculously  enlarged  by  the  fracture  of  two  ribs. — "Chari- 
tate  Dei  vulneratus,  languebat  jugiter;  tantoque  cor  ejus 
sestuabat  ardore,  ut  cum  inter  fines  suos  contineri  non  posset, 
lllius  sinum,  confractis  atque  elatis  duabus  costulis,  mirabili- 
ter  Dominus  ampliaverit,*'  Die  26  Maii». 
P 


194 

part  of  Spain.  This  happened  only  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  A  raven  provided  Paul  the  her- 
mit with  bread:  a  wild  doe  presented  herself  dai- 
ly to  be  milked  by  St.  iEgidius.  St.  Eustachius, 
a  martyr,  said  to  have  been  a  general  under  Tra- 
jan, was  converted  by  seeing,  in  the  chase,  a 
stag  bearing  a  crucifix  between  his  antlers.  St. 
John  of  Matha  founded  the  order  of  the  Trini- 
ty, in  consequence  of  seeing  a  similar  animal 
with  a  tri-colour  cross  in  the  same  position. — 
There  are  also  certain  miraculous  feats,  for  which 
saints  have  shown  a  peculiar  fondness.  Three 
navigations  on  a  mantle  are  recorded  in  the 
Breviary.  St.  Francis  de  Paula  crossed  the 
strait  of  Sicily  on  his  own  cloak,  taking  another 
monk  as  a  passenger.  St.  Raymond  de  Penna- 
fort  sailed  in  the  same  manner,  from  Majorca  to 
Barcelona.  St.  Hyacinth,  a  Pole,  though  only 
a  fresh  water  sailor,  deserves  no  less  credit  for 
the  management  of  his  cloth  vessel  across  the 
flooded  Vistula,  notwithstanding  a  heavy  cargo 
of  monks.  * 

•  St.  Francis  de  Paula.  *'Multi9  miraculis  servi  sui  sancti- 
tatem  Deus  testari  voluit,  quorum  illud  in  primis  celebre, 
quod  a  nautis  rejectus,  Siciliae  fretum,  strato  super  fluctibus 
pallio,  cum  socio  transmisit.'*    Die  2  Aprili. 


195 

The  mention  of  a  Polish  saint  reminds  me, 
iiowever,  of  a  miracle  performed  by  St.  Stanis- 
laus, bishop  of  Cracow,  which  is  not  likely  to 
have  been  often  repeated.  Stanislaus  was  on  the 
point  of  being  deprived  of  some  lands,  which  he 
had  purchased  for  his  church.  He  could  not 
sliow  the  title  deeds;  and  the  person  to  whom  they 
formerly  belonged,  had  been  dead  three  years.—- 
The  king  being  a  decided  enemy  of  the  bishop, 
no  witness  would  come  forward  in  his  favour. — 
The  diet  of  Poland  was  on  the  point  of  punishing 
Stanislaus  for  his  supposed  fraud,  when,  to  the 
no  small  amusement  of  the  noblemen  present,  he 
engaged,  within  three  days,  to  present  the  late 
possessor  of  the  estate.  On  the  third  the  saint 
called  the  dead  man  out  of  the  grave.  Peter 
(that  was  his  name)  rose  without  delay,  and  fol- 
lowed the  bishop  to  the  diet;  where  having  duly 

St.  Raymond  de  Pennafort.  "Mlilta  patravit  miracula; 
inter  qux  illud  clarissimum,  quod  ex  insula  Baleari  Majori 
Barcinonem  reversurus,  strato  super  aquas  pallio,  centum 
sexag-inta  milliaria  sex  horis  confecerit;  et  suum  ccenobium 
januis  clausis  fuerit  ingressus."     Die  23  Januarii. 

St.  Hyacinth.  "Vandalum  fluvium  prope  Visogradum 
aquis  redundantem,  nullo  navigio  usus  trajecit,  sociis  quoque 
expanse  super  undas  pallio,  traductis."     Die  16^Aug'Usti. 


196 

given  his  deposition  in  support  of  the  hisJiop's 
vight,  he  begged  to  be  allowed  to  die  again. '^^ — 
The  king  was,  however,  too  hardened  to  profit 
by  this  great  miracle,*  and  being  enraged  at  the 
sentence  of  excommunication  whicli  the  bishop 
soon  after  fulminated  against  him;  killed  him 
with  his  own  hand,  and  ordered  his  body  to  be 
quartered  and  scattei*ed  about  the  fields.  The 
^^ild  beasts  would  have  made  a  repast  on  the  holy 
relics,  but  for  the  watchfulness  of  some  eagles, 
which  never  allowed  any  one  to  touch  them,  till 
the  canons  of  Cracow,  led  by  the  light  thrown 
out  by  the  scattered  limbs,  collected  them  the 
ensuing  night.  The  different  parts  of  the  body, 
t\'hen  properly  adjusted  together,  united  as  close- 
ly as  kindred  drops,  and  not  a  mark  was  left  of 
the  effects  of  the  knife,  f 

•  "Spondet  episcopus  se  Petrum,  pagi  vendltorem,  qui 
triennio  ante  obierat,  intra  dies  tresin  judicium  adductiiruni. 
Conditione  cum  risu  accepta,  vir  Dei . .  .  ipso  spoiisionis  die, 
post  oblatum  Missae  sacrificium,  Petrum  e  sepulchre  surg-ere 
jubet,  qui  statim  redivivus,  episcopum  ad  reg-ium  tribunal 
euntem  sequitur,  ibique  reg-e,  et  caeteris  stupore  attonitis, 
de  argo  a  se  vendito,  et  pretio  rite  sibi  ab  episcopo  persoluto 
testimonium  dicit,  atque  iterum  in  Domino  obdormivit.** 

I  "Corpus  membratim  concisum,  et  per  agros  projectum, 
aquil?e  a  feris   mirabiliter  defendunt.      Mox  Canouici  Cr*- 


197 

Novel  and  singular  as  the  history  of  Stanislaus 
appears,  I  have  a  suspicion  that  another  dead 
witness  has  somewhere  else,  appeared  before  a 
court  of  justice;  but  I  defy  hagiography  to  match 
the  miracles  I  am  going  to  relate  from  the  life  of 
a  Spanish  saint  recorded  in  the  Breviary. 

St.  Peter  Armengaud,  of  the  family  of  the 
counts  of  Urgel,  had  entered  the  Order  of  Mercy, 
and  made  some  visits  to  Barbary  for  the  libera- 
tion of  Christian  captives.  The  money  collect- 
ed for  that  purpose  being  exhausted  before  he 
could  ransom  some  boys,  whose  faith  appeared  to 
be  wavering:  he  sent  them  away  with  his  com- 
panion, and  remained  as  a  hostage  for  the  full 
amount  of  the  debt.  Charity  like  this,  exerted 
by  a  free  choice,  and  without  the  dangerous  and 
oppressive  system  of  religious  vows,  would  be 
worth  all  the  miracles  of  the  Breviary.  But  the 
marvellous  is  a  necessary  element  in  every 
saint's  life;  and  the  good  friars  of  the  Mercy, 
have  mixed  it  here  in  a  rather  undue  proportion* 

coviences  sparsa  membra,  noctupni  de  coelo  splendoris  indi- 
cio  collig-unt,  et  suis  locis  apte  disponunt,  quae  subito  ita  inter 
se  copulata  sunt,  ut  nulla  vulnerum  vestigia  extarenl."  Ble- 
7  Maii. 

P  £ 


198 

Peter  waited  for  his   companion  with   a  very 
natural  anxiety;  but  the  expected  money  did  not 
come  on  the   appointed  day,  and  the  barbarians 
settled  the  account  by  hanging  their  hostage. — 
Great  indeed  was  the  distress  of  Father  William, 
on  leai'ning  the  sad  consequences  of  his  delay: 
yet  the  body  of  a  martyr  was  worth  having, 
and  he  insisted  upon  carrying  it  back  to  Spain. 
The  Moors  had  no  objection  to  part  with  it,  and 
willingly  led  the  monk  to  the  place  where  Peter 
was  still  lianging  by  the  neck.      Three  days  in 
that  posture  would  have  closed  a  wind-pipe  of 
brass;  but  Peter's  was  sufficiently  free  to  address 
his   religious  brother,  as  soon  as  he   saw  him 
within  hearing.     The  Virgin  Mary,  he  informed 
him,    had,    since  his  execution,    supported   the 
weight  of  his  body,  and  was  still  holding  him 
up  at  that  moment.      Not  to  prolong  the  neces- 
sity of  supernatural  assistance,   Peter  was  cut 
down  without  delay.      Of  the  pleasures  he  had 
experienced  wliile  hanging,  lie  used  always  to 
speak  in  raptures;  notwithstanding  a  wry  neck 
and  habitual  paleness  for  life,  which  the  Virgin 
allowed  him  to  keep,  in  remembrance  of  her  assist- 
ance.    It  seems  that,  omitting  the  rope  and  beam. 


199 

the  scene  of  suspension  w  as  often  repeated  betweeu 
Peter  and  his  glorious  prop;  for  the  Breviary 
informs  us  that  he  frequently  was  seen  raised  in 
the  air,  uttering  ^^the  sweetest  words"  in  answer 
to  questions  which  the  bystanders  lieard  not,  but 
conjectured,  most  rationally,  to  proceed  from  the 
Virgin.  * 

**May  I  not  ask  (says  the  author  of  the  Book 
of  the  Roman   Catholic  Church),  if  it  be  either 

*  "Ipse  interim  eompedibus  detentus,  cum  ad  statutaiK 
diem  parta  pro  redemptione  mei'ces  non  fuisset  allata,  etMa- 
hometicae  superstitionis  haberetur  contemptor,  collo  ad  lig-num 
suspenditur.  Ex  Hispania  ejus  socius  Guillelmus  cum  re- 
demptionis  pretio  in  Africam  interea  revertitur,  et  graviter 
beati  viri  amissionem  deflens,  ad  locum  ubi  suspensus  mane- 
bat,  accessit;  quern  viventem  reperit,  sibique  dicentem  audi- 
vit:  *Charissime  frater,  ne  fleveris;  ecce  enim  sanctissimx  Vir- 
ginis  manibus  sustentatus  vivo,  quae  mihi  his  diebus  hilariter 
adfuit."  Inenarrabili  itaque  gaudio  ilium  e  suspendio  depo- 
suit,  et,  cunctis  demirantibus,  ac  barbaris  non  credentibus, 
una  cum  aliis  libertate  donatis,  laeti  in  patriam  reversi  sunt. 
Ex  illo  autem  tempore  beatus  Petrus  collum  e  supplicio  obtor- 
tum,  et  vultum  squalore  mavcidum,  quoad  vixit,  retinuit,... 
Frequenter  alienatus  a  sensibus  in  aerem  sublatus,  suavissima 
verba  proferre  auditus  est,  quibus,  ut  adstantibus  videbatur, 
beatissimae  Virgini  interroganti  respondebat;  suique  martyrii 
memor,  hsec  fratribus  dicere  erat  solitus:  *Ego,  credite  mihi, 
jiullos  reputo  me  vixisse  dies,  prseterfelicissimos  illos  paucos^ 
quibus  ligno  suspensus,  mundo  putabar  jam  mortuus.  Officii 
propria  SS.  Hispanorutif  die  2r  Aprilis.*" 


200 

just  or  gcnennjs  lo  liarass  the  present  Catholics 
with  tlie  weakness  of  the  ancient  writers  of 
their  ronimunion:  aiul  to  atlenij)!  to  i*en(ler  tlieir 
ivligiion  anil  themselves  odious  h\  these  unceasinj; 
and  oftensive  ivpititions'**  This  complaint  should 
be  addressed  to  tlie  Pope  and  the  Uuman  Catholi(^ 
bishops,  bv  wliose  authority ,  consent,  and  jiractice, 
these  weaknesses  are  uuceasiughj  repeated  lor  the 
instruction  of  tlie  members  of  their  communion.  I 
can  sympathise  with  the  feelini;s  of  the  author:  1 
can  easily  conceive  how  iralliiii;  it  nmst  he  for  a 
;?i<i(/(T«f  in/ Roman  Catholii.  in  tliis  country,  to  be 
constantly  suspected  of  being  a  Roman  Catholic, 
indeed,  and  accordinic  to  the  Pope's  heart.  His 
ease  is  as  deplorable  as  that  of  a  man  of  fashion, 
wlio  should  be  compelled  to  fivquent  tlie  higher 
circles  in  company  w  iih  an  old,  fantastic,  half- 
crazed  motiier.  who  daily  and  hourly  exposed  lier,- 
self  to  contempt  and  ridicule,  in  si)ite  of  his  filial 
efforts  to  hide  iier  absurdities.  Tlie  truth  is,  that 
the  I'i'otestants  have  nearly  forgotten  the  nu)n- 
sti'ous  heap  of  falsehood  and  imposture  Irom  which 
Rome  daily  feeds  her  thx  k.  But  the  offensive 
iTpetitions  ivsound  on  the  ears  of  your  harassed 
apologist  IVom   the  lips  of  eve»>'   bishop,  priest. 


20  i 

deacon  and  Hubdeacon  of  his  communion:  tliey  are 
chanted  incessantly  in  every  Roman  Catholic  ca- 
thedral, in  every  convent  of  males  or  females:  they 
are  translated  into  popular  tracts:*  they  are  heard 
and  read  with  a\idiry  hy  the  mass  of  strai^ht-(i>r- 
ward,  uncompromising  Catholics,  and  cannot  he 
scouted  by  the  more  fastidious,  without  a  direct 
reproach  on  the  most  constant^  solemn,  and  author- 
ized practice  of  their  church,  in  \ain  would  the 
suffering  scholar,  the  harcufsed  ina.n  of  i-efinement, 
attempt  a  distinction  between  the  miracles  of  dark 
ages,  and  those  of  more  modern  times:  in  vain 
would  he  venture  a  smiie  on  the  ^^Golden  Legend, 
and  the  patrician  Mctaphrastes."  His  mother 
church  has  thrown  hf-r  mantle  ovrr  thern.  hv 
borrowing  from  them  all  for  her  own  peculiar 
book,  her  own  corrected  work,  the  task-book  of 
all  her  clergy.     He  must  remember  that  the  weak- 


*  I  believe  that  these  stories  are  mach  circulated  among 
the  Roman  Catholics  of  these  kingdoms  in  the  shape  of  popu- 
lar pamphlets.  I  have  not,  however,  been  able  to  procure  a 
copy,  owing"  to  the  unwillingness  of  Roman  Catholic  booksel- 
lers to  furnish  unknown  purchasers  with  a  certain  peculiar 
produce  of  their  press.  I  had  strong  reasons  to  suspect  the 
existence  of  this  policy,  when  it  was  confirmed  to  me  by  the 
persofial  experience  of  a  clerical  friend, 


W2 

nesses  for  Avhicli  he  implores  the  benefit  of  oblivion 
are  no  more  imputable  to  their  original  and  ancient 
sources,  but  to  tlie  Popes  who  republished  them 
at  the  Vatican,  in  1631;  to  the  church,  who  with 
oq^  accordant  voice  repeats  them  to  the  faithful 
of  all  climates  arid  languages. 

It  were  w  ell,  however,  for  the  happiness  and 
virtue  of  the  spiritual  subjects  of  Rome,  if  their 
church  had  sanctioned  weaknesses  only — absurdi- 
ties which  degrade  the  understanding — and  had 
left  the  rules  of  Christian  conduct  undisturbed. 
But  the  Breviary  is  not  more  absurd  in  matteis 
of  fact  than  depraved  in  the  views  of  moral  per- 
fection, which  it  disseminates.  I  will  not,  how- 
ever, dwell  long  upon  this  topic,  since  the  attach- 
ment of  tlie  church  of  Rome  to  monastic  virtue, 
has  at  all  times  betrayed  her  distorted  a  ievvs  of 
evangelical  perfection.  The  specimens  which  I 
am  about  to  select  from  the  multitude  of  her 
saintly  models,  are  not  intended  to  convict  her  of 
errors  which  she  glories  in,  but  to  impress  tlieir 
consequences  on  those  tliat  seldom  or  never  dwell 
upon  these  important  topics.  As  I  cannot  se- 
parate, in  these  specimens,  what  strictly  belongs 
to  the  subject  on  which  I  am  going  to  toucli. 


20S 

from  the  miraculous  ornaments  with  which  these 
legends  are  crowded,  I  beg  you  to  keep  this  in 
mind,  that  the  progress  and  course  of  my  argu- 
ment may  be  perceived. 

Whatever  may  be  the  freedom  which  Rome 
allows  in  the  belief  or  rejection  of  her  miracles — 
whatever  be  the  unfairness  of  asserting  and  pro- 
pagating absurdities,  under  the  excuse  that  no 
force  is  employed  to  ensure  their  reception — whe- 
ther tlie  church  that  sanctions  and  uses  the  Bre- 
viary believes  the  accounts  it  contains,  or  secretly 
smiles  at  the  credulity  of  those  who  credit  them; 
it  might  be  hoped  that  the  models  proposed  for 
imitation  would  have  been  safe  in  regard  of  Chris- 
tian practice.  This  is  certainly  not  the  case. 
There  is,  indeed,  in  most  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
saints  much  of  that  benevolent  spirit  of  the  Gospel, 
which  must  always  be  found  in  every  heart  which 
opens  itself  to  the  divine  influence  of  its  leading 
truths;  but  Christian  charity  is  in  them  so  mixed 
w  ith  substantial  and  pervading  errors,  that  it  is 
seldom  unproductive  of  evil. 

The  first  noxious  ingredient  ^\  hich  poisons  cha- 
rity in  the  Roman  Catholic  system  of  sanctity,  is 
intolerance.    The  seeds  of  this  bitter  plant  are^  in- 


S04 

deed,  inseparable  from  a  liearitv  reception  of  her 
doctrines,  as  I  have  proved  before;  but  its  mature 
fruit,  persecution,  is  praised  among  the  virtues  of 
saints  whose  circumstances  enabled  them  to  use 
force  against  pagans  or  heretics.  Thus,  in  the  life 
of  Canute  the  Dane,  his  donations  to  the  church 
are  hardly  more  commended  than  the  zeal  with 
which  he  conquered  the  barbarians,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  making  them  Christians.^  St.  Ferdi- 
nand, King  of  Castille,  is  represented  as  an  emi- 
nent sample  of  that  peculiar  Roman  Catholic  vir- 
tue which  visits  dissent  from  the  faith  of  Rome 
with  the  mild  correctives  of  sword  and  fire.  **In 
alliance  with  the  cares  of  government,  the  regal 
virtues  (says  the  Breviary)  shone  in  him — mag- 
nanimity, clemency,  justice,  and  above  all  zeal  for 
the  Catholic  faith,  and  an  ardent  determination  to 
defend  and  propagate  its  worship.  This  he  per- 
formed, in  the  first  place,  by  persecuting  heretics, 
to  whom  he  allowed  no  repose  in  any  part  of  his 
kingdom,*  and  for  whose  execution,  when   con- 

*  "Religioni  promovendse  sedulo  incumbens,  ecclesias  red- 
ditibus  aug-ere,  et  pretiosa  supellectili  ornare  coepit.  Turn 
zelo  propagandae  fidei  succensus,  barbara  regna  josto  certa- 
mine  ag-gressas,  devictas,  subditasque  nationes  Clmstianae 
fidei  subjug-avit."     Die  19  Januarii. 


205 

demned  to  be  burnt,  he  used  to  carry  the  "^ood 
with  his  own  hands.  "^  Who  then  sliall  be  sur- 
prised to  find  inquisitors  canonized  by  Rome,  or 
to  hear  her  addressing  a  daily  prayer  to  the  great 
and  merciful  Father  of  mankind,  '^that  he  would 
be  pleased  to  bruise,  by  the  power  of  his  right 
hand,  all  pagan  and  heretical  nations?"  Such  are 
the  words  which  Rome  puts  in  the  mouth  of  every 
Spanish  priest  who  celebrates  high  mass.f 

The  power  of  persecuting  others,  upon  the  grand 
scale,  which  the  Church  of  Rome  exalts  into  a 
kingly  virtue,  is  given  but  to  very  few  among 
mankind:  whilst  every  individual  may  be  made 
his  own  tormentor  by  adopting  the  practices 
tvhich  that  church  represents  as  the  means  to 

*  *'Tn  eo,  adjunctis  regni  curis,  regise  virtutes  emicuere, 
magnanimitas,  dementia,  justitia,  et  prae  caeteris  Catholicac 
Fidei  zelus,  ej usque  relig-iosi  cultus  propagandi  ardens  stu- 
dium.  Id  prsestitit  in  primis  haereticos  insectando,  quos  nulli- 
bi  regnonim  suorum  consistere  passus,  propriis  ipsemanibus 
ligna  comburendis  damnatis  adrogum,  advehebat."  Propria 
Ss.  Hispan.     Die  30  Mail. 

f  The  concluding  collect  contains  a  prayer  for  the  Pope  In 
the  first,  for  the  bishop  of  the  diocess  in  the  second,  and  for 
the  royal  family  in  the  third  place;  it  then  proceeds  to  pray 
for  peace  and  health,  and  concludes;  **et  ab  ecclesia  tua  cune- 
tarn  repel/e  neguitia?n,  et  gentes  PAGANonuM  bt  H-ERETICO" 

BUM  SEXTERiG  TU£  rOT£NTI4  CO»;X£RA27TyR)  &Ct  &Ct 

Q 


206 

arrive  at  Christian  perfection.  Zeal  and  sincerity, 
are  equally  dangerous  under  the  tuition  of  Rome. 
The  Catholic  nunneries  rob  society  of  the  most 
amiable  and  virtuous  female  minds — those  who 
in  the  practice  of  the  social  duties,  would  be  a 
blessing  to  their  relatives  and  friends,  and  pat- 
terns of  virtue  to  the  community — to  make  their 
lives,  at  the  best,  a  perpetual  succession  of  toil- 
some and  useless  practices.  The  quiet  and  sober- 
minded  are  made  the  slaves  of  outward  ceremo- 
nies; the  ardent  and  sensitive  are  doomed  to  en- 
thusiasm or  madness.  Such  are  the  invariable 
results  of  the  models  which  Rome  presents  them 
daily  for  imitation. 

The  love  of  external  ceremonies  is  notorious  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  church;  but  few,  even  among 
the  persons  whom  1  address,  will  probably  have 
given  a  distinct  and  separate  consideration  to  the 
special  models,  by  which  their  church  sanctions 
and  recommends  this  peculiar  manner  of  sanctity. 
Let  them,  therefore,  conceive  themselves  as  con- 
temporaries of  Saint  Patrick,  and  imagine  they 
see  him  pursuing  the  regular  and  daily  employ- 
ment of  his  time.  The  holv  saint  rises  before 
daylight,  and,  under  the  snows  and  rains  of  a 


^07 

uorthern  winter,  begins  his  nsiial  task  of  praying 
one  hundred  times  in  a  day,  and  again  one  hun- 
dred times  in  the  night.  Such,  the  Breviary  in- 
forms, was  his  daily  practice  while  still  a  layman 
and  a  slave.  When  raised  to  the  see  of  Armagh, 
his  activity  in  the  external  practice  of  prayer  ap- 
pears quite  prodigious.  In  the  first  place  he  re- 
peated, daily,  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  psalms 
of  the  Psaltery,  with  a  collection  of  canticles  and 
hymns,  and  two  hundred  collects.  The  two  hun- 
dred genuflexions  of  his  youth  were  now  increased 
to  three  hundred.  The  ecclesiastical  day  being 
divided  into  eight  canonical  hours,  and  each  of 
these  having  one  hundred  blessings  with  the  sign 
of  the  cross  allotted  by  Saint  Patrick,  his  right 
hand  must  have  performed  that  motion  eight  hun- 
dred times  a  day.  After  this  distracting  stir  and 
hurry,  the  night  brought  but  little  repose  to  the 
saint.  He  divided  it  into  three  portions:  in  the 
first  he  recited  one  hnndred  psalms,  and  knelt  two 
himdred  times;  during  the  second  he  stood  im- 
mersed in  cold  water  repeating /i/fi/  psalms  more, 
*»with  his  heart,  eyes,  and  hands  raised  towards 
heaven;"  the  third  he  gave  up  to  sleep,  upon  a 


208 

«toiic  pavement.*  Imagine  to  yourselves,  I  again 
request,  the  patron  saint  of  Ireland,  not  as  an 
ideal  and  indistinct  personage  of  legend;  but  as  a 
real  man  of  flesh  and  blood.  Depict,  in  the  vivid 
colours  of  fancy,  the  bustle,  the  perpetual  motion, 
the  eternal  gabbling,  the  plunging  into  water  for 
prayer,  the  waving  of  the  hands  for  benedictions, 
the  constant  falling  upon  the  knees,  the  stretching 
of  hands,  the  turning  up  of  eyes,  required  for  the 
ascetic  practices  of  his  life:  and  then  repeat  the 
memorable  words  of  our  Saviour — The  hour 
Comethy  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshippe7's 
shall  worship  the  Father,  in  spirit  and  in  truth; 
for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  him.  God 
is  a  spirit;  and  they  that  worship  him  must  wor- 


*  "Antelucano  tempore  per  nives,  gclu,  ac  pluvias  ad  pre- 
ces  Deo  fundendas,  impiger  consurgebat;  solitus  centies  inter- 
diu,  centiesque  noctu  Deum  orare...Aiunt  enim  integrum  quo- 
tidie  Psalterinm,  una  cum  canticis  et  hymnis,  ducentisque 
orationibus  consuevisse  recitare:  ter  centies  per  dies  singulos 
flexis  genibus  Deum  adorare,  ac  in  qualibet  Hora  Canonica, 
centies  se  crucis  signo  munire.  Noctem  tria  in  spatia  dis- 
tribuens,  primum  in  centum  psalmis  percurrendis,  et  bis  cen- 
ties genuflectendo,  alterum  in  reliquis  quinquaginta  psalmis, 
algidis  aquis  immersus,  ac  corde,  oculis,  manibusque  ad  coclum 
erectus,  absolvendis  insumebat:  tertium  vero  super  nudurai 
lap  idem  stratus,  tenui  dabat  quieti.     Die  17  Martii. 


209 

ship  him  in  spirit  and  in  trufh,^  Compare  the 
sublime  simplicity  of  this  description  of  Christian 
piety,  with  the  models  which  your  church  sets  be- 
fore you;  and  tell  me  whether  they  agree.  I  will 
not  dispute  whether  the  list  of  devotional  practices 
attributed  to  Saint  Patrick,  be  authentic  or  fic- 
titious, accurate  or  exaggerated.  The  church  of 
Rome  would  not  have  recorded  it  in  lier  authorized 
book  of  spiritual  instruction,  if,  in  her  opinion,  it 
did  not  exaltthe  piety  of  her  saint.  The  worthies 
of  the  Breviary,  w  hether  sketched  from  nature  or 
pictured  from  fancy,  must  be  a  faithful  tanscript 
of  Rome's  ideal  models  of  Christian  perfection. 
The  practices  attributed  to  Saint  Patrick  are, 
therefore,  made  an  object  of  imitation  to  all  the 
sons  of  the  church  of  Rome,  according  to  their 
strength  and  circumstances;  and  the  principle 
that  such  practices  are  a  part  of  Evangelical 
virtue,  will  not  be  questioned  by  a  sincere  Roman 
Catholic.  Indeed,  among  the  saints  of  the  Bre- 
viary, most  will  be  found  commended  for  similar 
practices;  and  not  a  book  of  devotion,  by  writers 
of  that  communion  exists,  w  hich  does  not  repre> 


♦  John  iv.  23,  24. 


210 

sent  some  bodily  exercise  or  distortion,  as  an  ef- 
fectual method  of  pleasing  God.* 

All  this,  however,  is  intimately  connected  w  itli 
the  Roman  Catholic  notions  on  penance — a  subject 
which  well  deserves  the  dispassionate  considera- 
tion of  every  impartial  member  of  that  communion. 

If  it  be  once  settled  that  self-inflicted  suffering 
is,  by  itself,  a  virtue;  the  progress  between  a  simple 
fast  and  the  tortures  voluntarily  endured  by  the 
Indian  fanatics,  is  natural  and  unbroken.     The 


*  The  least  morose  of  all  Roman  Catholic  saints,  Saint 
irPancis  de  Sales,  though  not  carrying  these  practices  to  the 
degree  usual  among  professed  saints,  strongly  recommends 
this  kind  of  spiritual  gymnastics  to  his  friends.  The  follow- 
ing are  his  directions  to  a  gentleman  "qui  votiloit  se  retirer  du 
monde" 

**Je  Tous  conseille  de  pratiquer  ces  exercises  pour  cestrois 
mois  suivans....que  vous  vous  leviez  toujours  a  six  heures 
matin,  soit  que  yous  ayez  bien  dormi,  ou  mal  dormi,  pourvu 
que  vous  ne  soyez  pas  malade  (car  alors  il  faut  condescendre 
au  mal)  et  pour  faire  quelque  chose  de  plus  les  vendredis, 
rous  vous  leviez  a  cinq  heures.. ..Item,  que  vous  vous  accout- 
umiez  a  dire  tousles  jours,  apres  ou  devant  I'oraison;  quinze 
Pater  nosier  et  quinze  Ave,  Maria,  les  bras  etendus  en  guise 
de  crucifix. ..Encore,  voudrois-je  quelquefois  lasemaine  vous 
couchassiez  vetu....et  ces  jours-la  de  fete,  vous  pourrez  bien 
visiter  par  maniere  d'exercice  les  lieux  saints  des  capucins, 
S.  Bernard,  le«  Chartreux."— Lettres  de  Saint  Francois  de 
fJales. 


211 

practice  oT  Roman  Catholic  saints,  approaches 
very  nearly  indecdto  that  of  the  Eastern  worship- 
pers of  the  evil  principle.  Open  the  Breviary  at  any 
of  the  pages  containing  the  lives  of  saints,  males  or 
females,  and  you  will  find  uninterrupted  absti- 
nence from  food  (whether  real  or  not,  certainly 
held  out  to  admiration,  and  sanctioned  by  the 
assertion  of  miracles  in  its  favour)  since  Ash 
Wednesday  till  Whitsunday  r*  living  one  half  of 
the  year  on  bread  and  water  :f  confinement  for 
four  years  to  a  niche  excavated  in  a  rock;+  and 
every  where  the  constant  use  of  flagellation, 
lacerating  bandages,  and  iron  chains  bound  con- 
stantly about  the  body,  immersions  in  freezing 
water,  and  every  method  of  gradually  and  pain- 
fully destroying  life.  The  Roman  Catholics 
will  talk  of  penance  in  moderation;  but  where  is 
the  line  drawn,  where,  indeed,  can  it  be  drawn, 
to  point  the  beginning  of  excess?  Must  I  again 
revive  the  memory  of  the  victims  whom  I  have 
seen  perish  in  their  youth,  from  the  absolute  im- 

♦  Life  of  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna, 
f  St.  Elizabeth  of  Portugal. 

t  The  blessed  Dalonatius  Monerius,  in  the  Propria  SB. 
Hispan. 


SIS 

possibility  of  moderating  the  entluisiam  which 
their  church  thus  encourages?  It  is  chiefly 
among  the  tender  and  delicate  of  the  female  seXy 
that  the  full  effects  of  these  examples  are  seen. — 
How  can  a  confessor  prescribe  limits  to  the  zeal 
of  an  ardent  mind,  wliich  is  taught  to  please  God 
by  tormenting  a  frail  body  ?  Teach  an  enthusias- 
tic female  that  self-inflicted  death  will  endear  her 
to  her  heavenly  bridegroom,  and  she  will  press 
the  rope  or  the  knife  to  her  lips.  Distant  danger 
is  lighter  than  a  feather  to  hearts  once  swollen 
with  the  insane  affections  of  religious  enthusiasm. 
Talk  to  them  about  the  duty  of  preser^  ing  life,, 
and  they  will  smile  at  the  good  natured  casuis- 
try, which  would  moderate  their  pursuit  of  a 
more  noble  and  more  disinterested  duty — that  of 
loving  their  God  above  tlieir  own  lives.  Their 
church  has  besides,  practically  dispensed  the  du- 
ty of  self-pi^servation  in  favour  of  penance. — - 
Does  not  the  young  victim  read  of  her  model 
Saint  Theresa,  that  ^*her  ardour  in  punishing  the 
body  was  so  vehement  as  to  make  her  use  hair- 
shirts,  chains,  nettles,  scourges,  and  even  to  roll 
herself  among  thorns,  regardless  of  a  diseased 
constitution?" — Is  she  not  told  that  St.    Rose^ 


2iB 

•*from  a  desire  to  imitate  St.  Catharine,*  wore^ 
day  and  night,  three  folds  of  an  iron  chain  round 
her  waist;  a  belt  set  with  small  needles,  and  an 
iron  crown  armed  inside  with  points?  That  she 
made  to  herself  a  bed  of  the  unpolished  trunks  of 
trees,  and  that  she  filled  up  the  interstices  with 
pieces  of  broken  pottery?"  She  did  all  this  in 
spite  of  her  *  ^tortures  from  sickness,"  and  by 
this  means  she  obtained  the  frequent  visits  of 
saints  and  angels;  and  heard  Christ  himself  utter- 
ing the  words,  ^^Rose  of  mtj  heart,  be  thou  mtj 
bride.''  Can  the  poor,  weak,  visionary  recluse 
doubt  the  reality  of  scenes  attested  by  her  church, 
or  question  the  lawfulness  of  slow  self-murder, 
supported  by  the  brightest  of  her  commended 
models  :f 

*  Observe  the  effect  of  the  proposed  models.  The  Bre- 
viary records  a  number  of  similar  imitations:  every  one  ac- 
quainted with  Rom.an  Catholics  must  have  seen  them  repeat- 
ed every  day, 

f  St.  Theresa ....  "Per  duodeviginti  annos  gravissimis 
morbis  et  variis  tentationibus  vexata,  constantissime  meruit 
in  castris  Christianae  poenitentise  • . .  Infidelium  et  h3ereticorum 
tenebras  perpetuis  deflebat  lacrymis,  atque  ad  placandam 
divinse  ultionis  iram,  voluntaries  proprii  corporis  cruciatus 
Deo,  pro  eorum  salute  dicabat . . .  Tarn  anxio  castigandi  cor- 
poris desiderio  sestuabat,  ut  quamvis  secus  suaderent  morbj. 


S14 

The  only  I'ational  principle  which  can  regu- 
late self-denial,  and  giA  e  it  the  stamp  of  a  Chris- 
tian virtue,  would  condemn  the  whole  of  the 
monkish  system  at  once:  Rome,  therefore,  can- 
not, will  not  admit  it.  Make  the  good  of  man- 
kind the  only  ground  for  voluntary  endurance  of 
pain;  make  the  hahit  of  rational  self-denial  (with- 
out which  extensive  usefulness  is  impossihle)  the 


quibus  affllctabatur,  corpus  ciliciis,  caten'is,  urtlcarum  itiani- 
pulis,  aliisque  asperrimis  flagellis  ssepe  cruciaret,  et  aliquan- 
do  inter  spinas  volutaret,  sic  Deum  alloqui  solita:  *Domine, 
aut  pati  aut  mori*  . . .  Ei  morienti  adesse  visus  est  inter  an- 
g^elorum  agmina  Christus  Jesus:  et  arbor  arida  celiae  proxima 
statim  effloniit."     Die  15  Octobris. 

St.  Rose  of  Lima  .  .  .  "Oblong-o  asperrimoque  cilicio  spar- 
sim  minusculas  acus  intexuit;  sub  velo  coronam  densis  acu- 
leis  introrsus  obarmatam,  interdiu  noctuque  g-estavit.  Sanc- 
tx  Catherinse  Senensis  ardua  premens  vestig-ia,  catena  ferrea, 
triplici  nexu  circumducta,  lumbos  cinxit.  Lectulum  sibi  e 
truncis  nodosis  composuit,  horumque  vacuas  commissuras 
fragminibus  testarum  implevit.  Cellulam  sibi  angustissiman 
struxit  in  extremo  horti  angulo,  ubi  caelestium  contemplationi 
dedita,  crebis  disciplinis,  inedia,  vigiliis  corpusculum  ex- 
tenuans,  at  spiritu  vegetata,  larvas  dxmonum  frequenti  cer- 
tanrtine  victrix,  impavide  protrivit  ac  superavit  .  . .  Exinde 
ccEplt  supernis  abundare  deliciis,  illustrari  visionibus,  colli- 
quescere  Seraphicis  ardoribus.  Angelo  tutelari,  sanctse 
Catharin:e  Senensi,  Virgini  Deipar*  inter  assiduas  apparitio- 
nes  mire  faniiliaris,  a  Christo  has  voces  audire  menut:  *Kosa 
cordis  mei,  tu  mihi  sponsa  esto.'  "     Die  30  Augusti. 


^15 

object  of  certain  slight  privations,  used  as  a  dis-^ 
cipline  of  mind  and  body;  and  a  convent  assumes 
the  character  of  a  mad-house.      Penance  is,  con- 
sequently, erected  into   an   independent  virtue, 
and  saints  are  made  to  appear  after  death,  in 
glory,  to  proclaim  the  Indian  doctrine  of  heaven- 
ly enjoyments  purchased  by  bodily  sufferings.^ 
The  models  which  Rome  presents  for  imitation, 
are  not  more  removed  from  the  spiritual  simpli- 
city of  the  Gospel,  than  they  are  from  that  sober- 
ness of  devotional  feeling   which   pervades  the 
whole  of  the  New  Testament.     Read  the  lives  of 
saints  who  have  lived  since  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteeeth  century;  and,  whether  male  or  female, 
you  will  find  a  sentimentality  of  devotion,  a  sus- 
picious kind  of  tenderness,  which  from  time  to 
time,  has  alarmed  the  truly  sincere  sons  of  Rome, 
under  the  grosser  shape  of  devotional  sensuality. 
There  is,  I  am  aware,  a  distinction  between  the 
raptures  of  St.  Theresa,  and  the  ecstatic  reveries 
of  the  quietists;  but  on  reading  her  own  account 
of  her  feelings,  and  heaiing  the  description  which 

*  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara  is  said  to  have  appeared  after 
death  to  St.  Theresa,  and  exclaimed:  0  felix  psemtentiat  quif 
iantam  mihi  promeruit  g-loriam/     Die  31  Octobris. 


S16 

the  clmrcli  of  Rome  gives  of  her  visions,  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  observe  that  both  have  some  moral 
elements  in  common.  The  picture  of  St.  The- 
resa fainting  under  the  wound  which  an  angel  in- 
flicts on  her  heart  with  a  fiery  spear,  were  it  not 
for  the  nun's  weeds  worn  by  the  principal  figure; 
might  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  votive  tablet  in- 
tended for  some  heathen  temple:  and  her  dying 
^••rather  of  love  than  disease"  is  more  worthy  of  a 
novel  of  doubtful  tendency,  than  of  a  collection  of 
lives  prepared  by  a  Christian  church,  to  exem- 
plify the  moral  effects  of  the  Gospel.* 

*  "Tanto  autem  divini  atnoris  incendio  cor  ejus  conflagra- 
vlt,  ut  merito  viderit  angelum  ig-nito  jaculo  sibi  praecordia 
transverberantem;  et  audierit  Christum  data  dextera  dicen- 
tem  sibi:  *Deinceps  ut  vera  sponsa  meum  zelabis  honorem."* 
(I  cannot  venture  any  remarks  on  the  apposition  of  these 
emblems.)  "tntolerabili  ig-itur  divini  amoris  incendio  potius, 
quam  vi  morbi....sub  columbae  specie  purissimum  animum 
Deo  reddidit."  Ubi  supra. — I  must  observe,  without  howe- 
ver insinuating-  any  thing:  more  than  the  dang-erous  nature  of 
this  kind  of  devotion,  that  in  male  saints  it  generally  has  the 
Virgin  for  its  object.  The  life  of  St  Bernard  contains  de- 
scriptions of  visions,  which  would  be  unfit  for  the  eye  of  the 
public  in  any  other  book.  Hagiography,  however,  gives 
great  liberty  both  to  writers  and  painters.  The  picture  of 
the  vision  I  allude  to,  I  have  seen  in  a  convent  of  Cistercian 
Nuns.  The  Breviary,  however,  omits  the  story  which  forms 
its  subject. 


S17 

Does  the  Breviary  produce  effects  analogous  to 
the  character  of  its  contents,  and  commensurate 
to  the  extent  of  the  use  of  it  by  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholics? Does  it  everywhere  degrade  faith  into 
credulity,  and  devotion  into  sentimentality  ?  That 
it  does  so  among  Roman  Catholics,  in  Italy,  in 
Spain,  in  Portugal,  and  in  all  other  countries 
where  the  religion  of  Rome  predominates;  is  a 
matter  of  general  notoriety.  It  would  afford  an 
additional  praise  of  the  reformed  religion,  if  it 
could  be  proved  that  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  had  been  preserved 
from  the  injurious  effects  which  the  true  book  of 
their  church,  has  so  widely  produced  among  their 
foreign  brethren.  It  is  possible  that  the  class  of 
Roman  Catholics  to  whom  I  have  addressed  my- 
self in  these  letters,  and  who  alone  are  likely  to 
read  them,  have  never  since  their  childhood  exa- 
mined the  devotional  books  published  in  England 
for  the  use  of  the  sincerely  pious  among  them.  If 
tliey  should  be  well  acquainted  with  such  books, 
they  will  not  require  any  further  proof  of  the  per- 
fect agreement  between  the  minds  and  feelings  of 
such  persons,  and  those  which  I  have  instanced 

from  the  Breviary.     Such  as  may  have  forgotten 
R 


ai8 

the  character  of  their  devotional  hooks  ^would  do 
well  to  re-peruse  them.  I  will,  however,  in  the 
mean  time,  give  one  or  two  specimens,  from  the 
TWELFTH  London  edition,  of  the  Devotion  and 
Office  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.*  I 
have  so  much  exceeded  the  length  wliich  I  pro- 
posed to  give  this  letter,  that  I  will  not  detain 
my  readers  much  longer  upon  this  suhject. 

The  ostensible  Roman  Catholics  of  England,  I 
mean  such  as  appear  in  the  character  of  sjjeci- 
mens  of  their  religious  communion,  are  so  dex- 
terous in  the  use  of  theological  distinctions,  so 
practised  in  the  pious  work  of  throwing  a  cloak 
over  the  nakedness  of  their  spiritual  parent,  that 
the  Protestant  puhlic  will  hardly  expect  the  fol- 
lowing rule  of  belief,  upon  matters  not  strictly 
of  dogmatic  faith,  prevalent  among  the  pious  and 
sincere  Roman  Catholics  of  these  i^alms.  The 
rule  applies  to  tlie  subject  of  revelations  and 
miracles,  such  as  the  Roman  Church  i»ecords  in 
her  Breviary. 

<*The  puhlic  is  in  possession  of  many  writings 
of  holy  women,  who  have  yielded  to  advice  and 

•  Extracts  from  this  book  will  be  found  in  an  appendix, 
after  the  Notes  to  these  Letters. 


S19 

obeyed  their  spiritual  directors.  They  contain 
an  account  of  many  revelations,  celestial  visions, 
and  other  extraordinary  graces,  which  they  have 
received  from  God.  Now  I  reason  thus:  either 
these  writings  were  penned  by  the  saints,  or  they 
were  not.  If  they  were,  either  they  designedly 
published  a  falseliood^  or  were  themselves  delud- 
ed, and  have  given  us  idle  dreams.  Will  you 
suppose  that  they  were  not  the  real  authoi^  of 
these  works  ?  You  shock  every  idea  of  reason  and 
common  sense.  The  man  who  will  venture  to 
deny  that  St.  Theresa  wrote  her  life,  may  doubt 
of  her  existence.  But  you  will  say  she  was  de- 
luded, and  her  imagination  deluded  all  she  wrote. 
The  delusion  must  be  the  work  of  the  evil  spirit, 
which  no  Catholic  can  believe  to  have  had  any 
power  over  the  chaste  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ, 
canonized  by  the  cluirch.  If  imagination  pre- 
vailed, it  is  true  she  was  not  a  hypocrite,  but  a 
fool.  /  shudder  at  the  thought  of  so  impious,  so 
groundless  an  imjiutatioju  Who  can  believe  that 
these  saints  lived  in  a  perpetual  aberration  of 
mind  ?  I  say  perpetual,  for  we  are  not  here  treat- 
ing of  transient  acts,  which  lasted  a  few  hours 
or  days,  or  even  during  certain  periods  of  life. 


220 

but  the  duration  of  which  is  measured  by  the 
whole  extent  of  their  existence. "=^  I  know  this 
argument  to  be  unanswerable  upon  the  principles 
of  a  sincere  Roman  Catholic;  and  cannot  but  feel 
pained  to  see  that  it  must  have  weight  with  mil- 
lions of  Britons.  -  Such  is  the  genuine  w  ork  of 
Rome  among  the  most  thinking  people  of  Eu- 
rope! Strange  that  a  set  of  Italian  priests  should 
have  it  in  their  power  thus  to  emasculate  under- 
standings, w^hich  claim  kindred  with  Locke,  Na- 
pier, and  Berkeley. 

Nor  is  their  power  less  effectual  in  rendering 
Christian  devotion  in  these  kingdoms  as  childish, 
disgusting,  and  contemptible  as  it  appears  in  the 
worst  pages  of  the  Breviary.  I  have  at  this  mo- 
ment before  me  an  Angelical  Exercise,  which  the 
same  English  Manual  of  Devotion  recommends 
in  the  follow-ing  terms:  *  ^Whosoever  is  devoted 
to  this  exercise  in  honour  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  in  reading  over  every  point,  may  niedi- 
tate  upon  it  for  the  space  of  one  Hail  Mary,  or 
more,  and  by  God's  grace,  he  will  in  a  short  time 
find  liimself  greatly  increase  in  love  tow  ards  that 

*  Pacre  70. 


SSI 

blessed  queen  of  Heaven;  and  at  the  hour  of 
death  will,  by  so  pious  a  mother,  be  received  as 
her  dearest  child.  Nor  can  such  a  one,  accord- 
ing to  St.  Anselm  and  St.  Bernard,  possibly  pe- 
rish, but  shall  find  life  everlasting,  and  taste  of 
the  joys  of  eternal  bliss."^ 

Under  these  assurances  the  devout  Roman  Ca- 
tholic is  urged  to  peruse  a  series  of  questions,  as 
from  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  give  his  own  answers, 
in  the  words  which  the  book  suggests.  I  select 
the  Exercise  for  Monday  as  a  specimen,  not  be» 
cause  its  tone  of  devotion  is  more  purile  than 
the  rest,  but  as  containing  a  fresh  and  striking 
proof  of  the  indefatigable  industry  of  Roman  Ca- 
tholic priests,  in  entrapping  young  people  to 
take  the  dangerous  vow  of  perpetual  celibacy. 

•<I  am  the  Queen  of  Virgins,  Regina  Virgi7inin^ 
says  the  glorious  Mother  of  God.  Will  you,  my 
dear  child,  remain  a  virgin  all  your  life,  and  live. 
as  it  were,  an  angel  in  flesh,  as  did  my  dearly 
beloved  son  Aloysius  Gonzaga,  St.  Agnes,  St. 
Catherine,  and  a  thousand  others,  my  devoted 
children,  who  have  rather  chosen  to  lose  their  lives 
than  their  virginity  ?     I  will  love  you  as  I  have 

*  Page  275, 
R  2 


222 

loved  them,  and  cherish  you  as  I  cherish  the  an- 
gels, and,  if  it  be  possible,  more  than  the  angels 
themselves;  and  moreover,  my  child,  I  will  ob- 
tain your  name  shall  be  written  in  the  book  of 
the  blessed;  and  assure  you,  w  ith  a  heart  truly 
maternal,  that  at  your  death  you  will  wish  you 
had  been  the  most  chaste  and  holy  in  the  world. 
Think  well  upon  it,  and  resolve  the  best. — Hail 
Mary!" 

**Yes,  my  most  dear  Mother!  I  desire  to  be 
pure  all  my  life,  as  w^ell  in  body  as  soul:  I 
do,  I  say,  most  humbly  desire  it,  and  most  ear- 
nestly beseech  you,  dear  Lady,  to  obtain  for  me 
that  which  you  so  much  recommend  to  me.  I 
do  here,  prostrate,  i^everence  you,  O  sacred  Virgin 
Mary,  Mother  of  the  Woi*d  incarnate!  and  to- 
gether with  the  holy  thrones  and  all  celestial 
spirits,  ever  bless  and  praise  you  infinitely,  the 
Morning  Star,  Stella  Matutina;  for  that  you,  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  creatures,  w  ere  the  first  that 
did  vow  perpetual  chastity,  preparing  the  way  to 
so  many  virginal  souls  which  have  already  fol- 
lowed, and  shall  hereafter  follow  you  in  so  high, 
so  glorious,  and  so  divine  an  enterprise. — Hail 
Mary!" 


Sg3 

\In  the  name  of  the  Father  of  Spirits,  << whose 
eyes  are  upon  the  truth,"  I  entreat  such  as  love 
the  Author  of  our  common  faith,  more  than  the 
name  of  a  religious  party,  not  to  efface  the  im- 
pression of  sliame  which  these  passages  must 
produce,  hy  the  usual  method  of  recrimination.  I 
protest  before  Heaven,  that  neither  through  these 
quotations,  nor  by  any  expression  which  in  the 
course  of  this  work  may  have  flowed  from  my 
feelings,  it  has  been  my  purpose  to  hurt  yours. 
Hemember,  that  whatever  absurdities  you  might 
glean  from  Protestant  writers,  cannot  affect  a 
church  whose  authorized  articles  of  faith  and  form 
of  prayer,  have  nothing  in  common  m  ith  such 
aberrations  from  common  sense  and  the  Gospel. 
Observe,  on  the  other  hand,  how  naturally  the 
credulity  and  dangerous  sentimentality  with  which 
your  pious  hooks  abound,  flow  from  the  system  of 
Rome,  exhibited  in  her  Prayer-book,  as  well  as  in 
her  whole  conduct  in  regard  to  miracles  and  devo- 
tional practices.  Remark  the  activity  and  watch- 
fulness with  which  she  has  at  all  times  persecuted 
all  kinds  of  books,  wherein  the  least  insinuation 
was  throw  n  out,  not  against  her  articles  of  faith, 
but  even  the  least  part  of  tliis  her  deluding  system* 


gS4 

Compare  it  witli  the  supine  indifference  which  she 
exhibits  in  giving  free  course  to  thousands  of  books 
which,  at  this  very  day,  propagate  every  thing 
that  can  degrade  the  understanding  and  enfeeble 
the  mind,  under  the  name  of  piety.  When  you 
have  candidly  and  honestly  weighed  all  this,  decide 
with  yourselves,  if  it  be  not  the  part  of  every 
ingenuous  and  liberal  Catholic  of  these  kingdoms, 
to  strike  out  the  Roman  from  liis  religious  deno- 
mination, and  place  in  its  stead  the  noble  epithet 
of  Christian?  Preserve,  with  God's  blessing,  so 
much  of  your  tenets  as  may  appear  to  you  con- 
sistent with  his  word;  but  disown  a  church  which, 
by  her  miracles,  libels  the  Gospel  history  with 
imposture;  and  whose  mawkish  piety  disfigures 
the  sublime  Christian  worship  into  drivelling  im- 
becilitv. 


NOTES. 


A — Page  43. 

Though  it  is  impossible  that  Mr.  Soiithey  can 
omit  to  take  notice  of  the  strange  charge  which  his 
antagonist  makes  against  him,  respecting  a  passage 
of  Paulus  Emilius  Veronensis,  Mr.  Butler's  halluci- 
nation is  so  extraordinary  on  this  point,  that  I 
must  expose  it  as  a  general  caution  to  my  readers. 

The  passage  relates  to  some  deputies  of  the  city 
of  Palermo,  who  came  to  implore  the  Pope's  mercy 
in  behalf  of  their  fellow-citizens.  I  will  copy  both 
the  Latin  words  and  the  translation  of  them  from 
Mr.  B.'s  Book  of  the  R.  C.  Church,  pp.  131  and  132, 
first  edition. 

*'Cum  apud  Pontificem  de  hac  consternatione  age- 
retur,  a  Panormitanis  missos  ad  eum  oratores,  viros 
sanctos,  qui  ad  pedes  illius  strati,  velut  pro  arahos- 
tiaque,  Christum  agnum  Dei  salutantes,  ilia  etiam 
ex  altai  is  mysteriis  verba  supplices  effarentur — 'Qui 
tollis  peccata  mundi,  miserere  nostri: — Qui  tollis 
peccata  mundi,  miserere  nostri: — Qui  tollis  peccata 
mundi,  dona  nobis  pacem.'  Pontificem  respondisse, 
Panormitanos  agere  quod  fecissent,  qui,  cum  Christ- 
um pulsarent,  eundem  regem  Judaeorum  salutabant, 
re  hostes,  fando  salvere  jubentes," 


226 

Mr.  Butler  thus  translates  the  passage:— 
"The  city  of  Palermo  having  grievously  offended 
the  Pope,  sent  some  holy  men  to  him  as  ambassa- 
dors, who  prostrated  themselves  at  his  feet,  And 
SALUTED  Christ  the  Lamb  of  God,  as  before  an  altar 
and  the  blessed  sacrament,  and  suppliantly  pro- 
nounced the  mystic  words  of  the  altar,  'Lamb  of 
God,  who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have 
mercy  upon  usi  Who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  give  us  peace!'  The  Pope  replied  by  telling 
them,  that  they  acted  like  those  who,  after  they  had 
struck  Christ,  saluted  him  King  of  the  Jews;  that  in 
reality  they  were  his  enemies,  although  in  these 
words  they  wished  him  health." 

This  translation  makes  the  transaction  quite  un- 
intelligible. The  ambassadors  saluted  Christ, 
and  yet  the  Pope,  taking  the  salutation  to  himself, 
accuses  them  of  being  his  enemies  in  reality,  though 
in  the  words  they  had  used  they  wished  him  health. 
The  fact  is,  that  a  school-boy  that  can  construe  the 
Selecta  e  Profanis  would  be  able  to  clear  the  difficul- 
ty at  once.  Had  Mr.  Butler  taken  notice  of  the 
VELUT,  which  qualifies  the  whole  of  the  next  sen- 
tence, and  the  etiam,  which  applies  to  the  words 
taken  from  the  Mass,  he  would  have  perceived 
his  mistake.  But  he  drew  the  attention  of  the  read- 
ers to  the  Christum  Agnum  Dei  salutantes  by  means 
of  a  larger  type,  for  fear  of  their  stumbling  on  those 
two  little  words.  Let,  now,  the  public  judge  if  the 
natural  translation  of  the  words  be  not  as  follows: — 
"Who  being  prostrate  at  his  feet,  as  if  they  were» 


%%7 

saluting  Christ  the  Lamb  of  God  before  the  ara  and 
the  host,  used  even  those  words  from  the  mysteries 
of  the  altar,  (i.  e.  the  Mass),  Agnus  Dei^''  Sec. 

This  translation  ought  to  have  been  evident  to  a 
Roman  Catholic,  well  acquainted  with  the  ceremony 
to  which  the  writer  alludes.  The  Priest,  Mr.  B. 
well  knows,  bending  upon  the  ara^  or  consecrated 
slab  of  marble,  which  lies  in  the  centre  of  the  altar, 
and  looking  on  the  consecrated  host,  smites  his 
breast  three  times,  using  these  very  words,  Agnus 
Dei,  &c.,  and  concluding  with  dotia  nobis  fiacem.— 
Nothing,  therefore,  can  be  clearer,  than  that  when  the 
ambassadors  used  these  words  at  the  Pope's  feet, 
they  wished  to  address  them  to  the  Pope  himself, 
of  whom  they  came  to  ask  peace.  Mr.  B.  asserts 
that  the  Pope  resiled  from  the  address.  Why?  If 
the  words  were  directed  lo  Christ,  what  fault  could 
he  find  in  them?  He  resiled,  because  he  believed 
the  ambassadors  to  be  insincere  in  their  professions 
towards  him. 

The  whole  mistake  is  so  unaccountable,  and  the 
writer,  by  copying  the  original  words,  has  made  it 
so  palpable,  that  it  seems  to  stand  in  the  book  of 
the  R.  C.  Church  to  warn  the  readers  of  the  strong- 
bias  under  which  the  author  labours. 


Since  writing  the  preceding  note,  it  has  cost  me 
no  small  trouble  to  find  the  passage  quoted  by  Mr. 
Butler.    If  that  gentleman  took  it  from  the  original, 


gS8 

he  should  have  mentioned  the  edition.  In  that  ot 
Basle,  1601,  the  words  in  question  are  found  at  page 
233;  Mr.  B.  refers  to  page  328.  I  might  have  spared 
myself  the  trouble  of  a  long  and  tedious  search,  but 
for  a  strong  suspicion,  grounded  upon  several  in- 
stances of  Mr.  Butler's  inaccuracy  of  quotation,  that 
in  his  transcript  of  Paulus  ^Emilius's  words  there 
was  an  additional  comma,  just  in  the  place  where  it 
may  throw  some  ambiguity  on  the  sense.  And  sol 
have  found  it.  The  original  has  qui  ad  fiedes  illius 
strati,  -oelut  firo  ara  hostiaque  Christum  Agnum  Dei 
salutantes;  evidently  connecting  the  whole  sentence 
with  the  particle  of  comparison  velut.  Mr.  Butler, 
however,  places  a  comma  after  hostiaque.  It  fortu- 
nately happens,  however,  that  the  rest  of  the  passage 
betrays  the  original  reading.  I  must  add  one  word 
more  to  obviate  a  possible  subterfuge  of  casuistry. 
Will  it  be  possible  that  the  figure  of  a  semicolon 
used  in  old  editions  to  denote  the  abbreviation  of  the 
que,  in  hostiaq;  be  pleaded  in  favour  of  Mr,  Butler's 
punctuation?  If  such  a  defence  should  be  attempt- 
ed the  reader  must  know,  that  in  the  very  same 
page  of  the  original  work,  a  comma  is  placed  after 
the  mark  of  abbreviation,  whenever  the  sense  re- 
quires it.  Thus,  in  the  eighth  line  from  the  bot- 
tom, it  is  written,  per  nefariam  fraudem,  furtumq;, 
sed  id  atrocissimum,  Sec.  &c. 


->.^ 


^9 


B.—Page  56. 

BOSSUEt's    opinion  to  JAMES  II. 

Sur  la  Declaration  du  Roi  (T  Jlngleterre» 

La  declaration  qu'on  a  demandee  au  Roi  d'Angle- 
terre  en  faveur  de  ses  sujets  Protestants,  consiste 
principalement  en  deux  points. 

Le  premier  est  que  S.  M.  T^YovaeXi^  de  firoteger  et 
defendre  V Eglise  Anglicane  comme  elle  est  firesente- 
tnent  etablie  fiar  les  loix^  et  qu'elle  assure  aux  mem- 
bres  (Ticelle  toutes  leurs  eglises^  universites^  colleges^ 
et  ecoles^  avec  leurs  i?nmunites,  droits^  et  privileges. 

Le  second  que  sa  dite  Majeste  promette  aussi 
quV//(?  ne  violera  point  le  serment  du  Test^  ni  n*en 
disjiensera  point. 

J'ai  repondu  et  je  reponds  que  S.  M.  peut  accor- 
der  sans  difficulte  ces  deux  articles. 

Et  pour  entendre  la  raison  de  cette  reponse,  il  ne 
faut  que  fixer  le  sens  veritable  de  deux  articles  en 
question. 

Le  premier  a  deux  parties:  L'une  de  proteger  et 
defendre  I'Eglise  An?^licane  comme  elle  est  presen- 
tement  etablie  par  les  loix;  ce  qui  n'emporte  autre 
chose  que  de  laisser  ces  loix  dans  leur  vigeur,  et 
comme  Roi  les  executer  selon  leur  forme  et  teneur. 

La  conscience  du  Roi  d'Angleterre,  n'est  point 
blessee  par  cette  partie  de  sa  declaration,  puisque 
la  protection  et  la  defense  qu'il  y  promet  a  I'Eglise 
S 


230 

Anglicane  Proteslante  ne  regarde  que  rexterleur, 
et  n'oblige  S.  M.  a  autre  chose  qu'a  laisser  celte 
pretendue  Eglise  dans  I'etat  exterieur  oil  il  la  trou- 
ve,  sans  troubler  ni  permettre  qu'on  I'y  trouble. 

Et  pour  decider  cetle  question  par  principes:  il 
faut  faire  grande  difference  entre  la  protection  qu'on 
donneroit  a  une  Eglise  par  adherence  aux  mauvais 
sentiments  qu'elle  professe  et  celle  qu'on  lui  donne 
pourconserver  al'exterieur  la  tranquillite  publique. 
Le  premier  genre  de  protection  est  mauvais  parce- 
qu'il  a  un  mauvais  principe  qui  est  I'adherence  a  la 
faussete:  mais  le  second  est  tres-bon  parcequ'il  a 
pour  principe  I'amour  de  la  paix  et  pour  object  une 
chose  bonne  et  necessaire,  qui  est  le  repos  public. 

Ceux  qui  traitent  en  cette  occasion  avec  le  Roi 
d'Angleterre  ne  lui  demandent  pas  I'approbation  de 
la  Religion  Anglicane,  puisqu'au  contraire  ils  le 
supposent  Catholique  et  traitent  avec  lui  comme 
I'etant:  Ils  ne  lui  demandent  done  qu'une  protection 
royale,  c'est-a-dire,  une  protection  a  I'exterieur, 
telle  qu'elle  convient  a  un  Roi  qui  ne  peut  rien  sur 
les  consciences:  et  tout  le  monde  demeure  d'accord 
que  cette  protection  est  legitime  pt  licite. 

Les  Rois  de  France  ont  bien  donne  par  I'edit  de 
Nantes  une  espece  de  protection  aux  pretendus  re- 
formes,  en  les  assurant  contre  les  insultes  de  ceux 
qui  les  voudroient  troubler  dans  leur  exercice,  et 
leur  accordant  des  especes  de  privileges,  oii  ils  or- 
donnent  a  leurs  officiers  de  les  maintenir.  On  n'a 
pas  cru  que  leur  conscience  fut  interessee  dans  ces 
concessions,  tant  qu'elles  ontete  jugees  necessaires 


^31 

pour  le  repos  public,  parceque  c'etoit  ce  repos  et 
non  pas  la  religion  pretendue  reformee  qui  en  etoit 
le  motif.  On  peut  dire  a  proportion  la  meme  chose 
du  Roi  d'Angleterre,  et  s'il  accorde  de  plus  grands 
avantages  a,  ses  sujets  Protestants,  c'est  que  I'etat 
oil  ils  sont  dans  ses  royaumes  et  le  motif  du  repos 
public  I'exige  ainsi. 

Aussi  ceux  qui  trouvent  a  redire  a  cet  endroit  de 
L'article  ne  mettent-ils  la  difficulte  qu'en  ce  qu'ils 
pretendent  qu'il  enferme  une  tacite  promesse  d'exe- 
cuter  les  lois  penales  qui  sont  decernees  par  les  par- 
fements  contre  les  Catholiques:  parceque,  disent- 
ils,  les  Protestants  mettent  dans  ces  lois  penales  une 
partic  de  la  protection  qu'ils  demandent  pour  I'E- 
glise  Anglicane  Protestante. 

Mais  les  paroles  dont  se  sert  le  Roi  n'emportent 
rien  de  semblable,  et  il  importe  de  bien  comprendre 
comme  parle  cette  declaration!  J\'ous  firotegerons, 
dit-elle,  et  defendrons  VEglise  Anglicane  comme  elle 
est  presentement  etablie  fiar  les  loix.  II  ne  s'agit 
done  que  des  principes  constitutifs  de  cette  preten- 
due Eglise  en  elle-meme,  et  non  pas  des  lois  penales 
par  lesquelles  elle  pretendroit  pouvoir  repousser  les 
religions  qui  lui  sont  opposees. 

Ces  principes  constitutifs  de  la  religion  Angli- 
cane selon  les  loix  du  pays  sont,  lo.  les  pretendus 
articles  de  foi  regies  sous  la  Reine  Elisabeth;  2o.  la 
liturgie  approuvee  par  les  parlements,  30.  les  home- 
lies  ou  instructions  que  les  memes  parlement  ont 
autorisees. 

On  ne  demande  point  au  Roi  qu'il  se  rende  le  pro- 


S3^ 

moteur  de  ces  trois  choses,  mais  seulement  qu'a 
I'exlerieur  il  leur  laisse  un  libre  cours  pour  le  repos 
de  ses  siijets:  ce  qui  suffit  d'un  cote  pour  maintenir 
ce  qui  conslitue  a  I'exterieur  I'Eglise  Anglicane 
Prolestante,  et  de  Tautre  ne  blesse  point  la  con- 
science du  Roi. 

Voila  done  a  quoi  il  s'oblige  par  cette  premiere 
partie  du  premier  article  de  sa  declaration,  la  deux- 
ieme  partie  de  Tarticle  oil  il  promet  d'assurer  a 
r£,glise  Protestante  et  a  ses  membres  leur  eglises^  etc., 
a  encore  moins  de  difficulte,  et  meme  elle  tempere 
la  premiere  en  reduisant  manifestement  la  protec- 
tion et  la  defense  de  I'Eglise  Anglicane  Protestante 
aux  choses  exterieures  dont  elle  est  en  possession, 
et  dans  lesquelles  le  Roi  promet  seulement  de  ne 
souffrir  point  qu'on  la  trouble. 

Le  Roi  est  bien  eloigne  d'approuver  par  la  I'usur- 
pation  des  Egliscs  et  des  benefices;  mais  il  promet 
seulement  de  ne  point  permettre  que  ceux  qui  les 
ont  usurpes  soient  troubles  par  des  voies  de  fait, 
parceque  cela  ne  se  pourroit  faire  sans  ruiner  la 
tranquillite  de  ses  etats. 

A  regard  du  serment  du  Test,  qui  fait  le  second 
article  de  la  declaration  du  Roi:  II  n'oblige  S.  M. 
a  autre  chose  sinon  a  exclure  des  charges  publiques 
ceux  qui  refuseront  de  faire  un  certain  serment;  en 
quoi  il  n'y  a  point  de  difficulte  puisqu'on  peut  vivre 
et  humainement  et  chretiennement  sans  avor  des 
charges. 

Que  si  cela  paroit  rude  aux  Catholiques  ils  doi- 
vent  considerer  I'etat  oil  ils  sont,  et  la  petite  portion 


S33 

qu*ils  composent  du  royaume  d'Angleterre,  ce  qui 
les  oblige  a  n'exiger  pas  de  leur  Roi  des  conditions 
impossibles,  et  au  contraire  a  sacrifier  touts  les 
avantages  dont  ils  se  pourroient  flatter  vainement, 
au  bien  reel  et  solide  d'avoir  un  Roi  deleur  religion 
ct  d'affermir  sur  le  throne  sa  fannille  quoique  Catho- 
lique,  ce  qui  leur  peut  faire  raisonnablement  espe- 
rer,  sinon  d'abord,  du  tnoins  dans  la  suite,  I'enticr 
retablissement  de  I'Eglise  et  de  la  foy. 

Que  si  on  s'attache  au  contraire  a  vouloir  faire  la 
loi  aux  Protestants  qui  sont  les  maitres,  on  perdra 
avec  I'occasion  de  retablir  le  Roi,  non  seulement 
touts  les  avantages  qui  sont  attaches  a  ce  retablisse- 
ment, mais  encore  touts  les  autres  quels  qu'ils  soient, 
et  on  s'exposera  a.  toutes  sortes  de  maux,  etant  bien 
certain  que  si  les  rebelles  viennent  a.  bout  selon  leurs 
desirs  d'exelure  tout  a  fait  le  Roi,  ils  ne  garderont 
aucune  mesure  envers  les  Catholiques,  et  ne  songe- 
ront  qu'  a  assouvir  la  haine  qu'ils  leur  portent. 

Pour  ces  raisons  je  conclus  non  seulement  que  le 
Roi  a  pii  en  conscience  faire  la  declaration  dont  il 
s'agit,  mais  encore  qu'il  y  etoit  oblige,  parcequ*il 
doit  faire  tout  ce  qui  est  possible  pour  I'avantage 
de  I'Eglise  et  de  ses  sujets  Catholiques  auxquels 
rien  ne  peut-etre  meilleur  dans  la  conjuncture  pre.- 
sente  que  son  retablissement. 

On  doit  meme  deja  regarder  comrae  un  grand 
avantage  la  declaration  qui  fait  S.  M.  de  recommau' 
der  fortement  a  son  fiarlement  une  impartiale  liberie 
de  conscience^  ce  qui  montre  le  zele  de  ce  Prince  pour 
le  repos  de  ses  sujets  Catholiques,  et  tout  ensembte 
S  2 


une  favorable  disposition  pour  eux  dans  ses  sujeL. 
Protestants  qui  acceptcnt  sa  declaration. 

Je  dirai  done  volontiers  aux  Catholiques,  s'il  y  en 
a  qui  n'approuvent  pas  la  declaration  dont  il  s'agit: 
JVoli  ease  Justus  multum:  neque  filus  safiias  quamne- 
cesse  esty  ne  obstufiescas.     Ecc.  vii.  17. 

Je  ne  doute  point  que  N.  S.  P.  le  Pape  n'appuie 
le  Roi  d'Angleterre  dans  I'execution  d'une  declara- 
tion qui  etoit  si  necessaire  et  ne  juge  bien  des  inten- 
tions d*un  Prince  qui  a  sacrifie  trois  royaumes,toute 
sa  famille,  et  sa  pmpre  vie,  a  la  religion  Catholique. 
Je  me  soumet,  neanmoins,  de  tout  mon  coeur  a  la 
supreme  decision  de  S.  S. 

Fait  a  Meaux,  ce  22  May,  1693. 

t  J.  Benigne,  E  de  Meaux. 

This  opinion  was  to  have  been  laid  before  the 
Pope  through  Cardinal  de  Janson  Forbin,  to  whom 
both  Bossuet  and  Lord  Melfort  wrote  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  neither  the  letters  nor  the  opinion  were 
forwarded  to  Rome  by  Louis  XIV. 

The  postscript  in  Lord  Melfort's  own  hand  is 
very  curious.  The  errors  of  language  are  scrupu- 
lously preserved. 

"  Ce  qu'il  y  a  affaire  n'est  que  pour  eviter  les 
CENSURES  DE  RoME,  nou  pas  pour  faire  examinct* 
Taffaire,  ce  QU*ii  faut  eviter  et  principalement 
iEs  CONGREGATIONS,  ce  quc  sa  Majeste  souhaite  cs- 
tant  de  satisfaire  sa  Saintete  en  particulier  des  ne- 
cessities soubs  les  quelles  sa  Majeste  est  tant  a. 
regard  de  son  establissement  que  pour  avoir  la  11- 


335 

berte  de  faire  elever  le  Prince  de  Galles  dans  la  re- 
ligion Catholique,  ce  qui  est  un  plus  grand  bien  i*. 
la  dit  religion  que  aucun  autre  que  puisse  arriver, 
II  est  aussi  a  considerer  que  sa  Majeste  a  des  assu- 
rances des  principaux  avec  lesquelles  elle  a  traite 
d'obtenir  une  liberte  de  conscience  pour  les  Catho- 
liques  d'Angleterre,  pourveu  que  sa  Majeste  ne  le 
presse  pas  par  son  authorile,  mais  qu'il  le  laisse  au 
Parliament.  En  fin  celle  cy  j'entends  la  declara- 
tion n'est  quE  pour  rentrer,  et  l'on  pbut  beau- 
coup  MIEUX  DISPWTER  DES  AFFAIRES  DES  CATHOLiqUES 

A  Whitehall  qu'a  St.  Germain." — lb.  p.  390. 


C Page  76. 

^LPHONSO  DE  CASTRO,  AND  THE  FOURTH  COUNCIL  OF 

TOLEDO. 

The  task  of  defending  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  from  the  charge  of  intolerance  and  persecu- 
tion involves  Mr.  Butler  in  strange  difficulties,  and 
calls  forth  that  light,  skimming,  glancing  manner 
of  arguing  which  distinguishes  that  writer,  and 
must  make  him  a  great  favourite  with  the  fair  read- 
ers of  his  party.  I  dislike  historical  more  than 
any  other  controversy,  and  have  purposely  abstained 
in  the  preceding  pages  from  every  topic  that  could 
lead  me  into  the  labyrinth  of  contradictory  authori- 
ties where  truth  lies  concealed,  especially  on  points 


236 

oi  ecclesiastical  history.  But  as  Mr.  Butler  has,  by 
the  way,  discovered  two  hitherto  unknown  phenom- 
ena, a  tolerant  Spanish  friar  and  a  liberal  Spanish 
Council,  I,  as  a  Spaniard,  cannot  pass  these  wonders 
unnoticed. 

"It  should  not  be  forgotten,"  says  Mr.  Butler,* 
"that  Alphonsus  de  Castro,  a  Spanish  friar  and  con- 
fessor to  Philip,  in  a  sermon  preached  before  the 
court,  condemned  these  proceedings  (the  sanguinary 
persecutions  of  Mary)  in  the  most  pointed  manner, 
as  contrary  both  to  the  text  and  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel."  He  said  "that  it  was  not  by  severity  but 
by  mildness  that  men  were  to  be  brought  into  the 
fold  of  Christ;  and  that  it  was  not  the  duty  of 
bishops  to  seek  the  death,  but  to  instruct  the  ignor- 
ance of  their  misguided  brethren." — "Many,"  says 
Dr.  Lingard,  "were  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  dis- 
course; whether  it  was  the  spontaneous  effort  of  the 
friar,  or  had  been  suggested  to  him  by  the  policy  of 
Philip,  or  by  the  humanity  of  Cardinal  Pole,  or  by 
the  repugnance  of  the  bishops — it  made  however  a 
deep  impression.  The  preacher  was  afterwards  ad- 
vanced to  a  bishopric  in  Spain." 

This  is  a  remarkable  specimen  of  the  art  of  weak- 
ening strong  impressions  by  a  crowd  of  new  ones, 
vague,  indefinite,  and  discordant.  It  is  analogous 
*I  beg  my  readers  to  pardon  the  homeliness  of  the 
illustration)  to  the  mode  in  which  rubbing  and 
scratching  in  every  direction,  relieve  some  deep 

•  Page  203,  1st  ed. 


S37 

^ensatioTis  of  the  skin.  Four  suppositions  are  sug- 
gested to  account  for  the  fact  that  a  Spanish  friar 
preached  toleration  in  London  under  the  sanguinary 
Mary.  The  reader,  of  course,  will  not  stop  to  choose 
among  them.  He  then  finds  that  the  sermon  "made 
a  deep  impression,"  and  the  friar  was  advanced  to  a 
bishopric  in  Spain:  the  consequence  is  that  whereas 
he  formerly  believed  that  Spanish  friars  were  the 
most  horrible  persecutors,  he  must  now  suspend  his 
judgment;  and  who  knows,  but  he  may  feel  inclined 
to  think  that  the  shortest  cut  to  a  Spanish  bishopric 
is  a  sermon  on  toleration? 

But  who  v/as  this  mild,  goodnatured  friar — this 
Alphonsus  de  Castro? 

Nicholas  Antonia,  in  his  Bibliotheca  Hisjiana  yVoi^a, 
gives  a  pretty  long  article  about  him,  of  which 
I.  will  only  copy  the  notice  of  one  of  this  meek  friar's 
works. 

^^De  justa  Hcereticorum  /lunitione,  libri  tres.  Sal- 
manticae,  1547,  in  fol.  ex  officina  Joannis  Giuntae. 
Lugduni,  1556,  in  8,  apud  haeredes  Jacobi  Junctae, 
Antuerpiae  apud  Steelsii  hsiredes  1568  in  8.  ut  con- 
Jirmaret  Justus  esse  omncfi  illas  peenas  quihus  in  jure 
civili  atque  canonico  hcsritici  addicuntur." 

Such  was  the  man  that  proclaimed  forbearance 
from  the  pulpit,  in  the  presence  of  those  two  notori- 
ous tyrants,  Philip  and  Mary.  He,  indeed,  exhibits 
one  of  the  numerous  instances  of  that  mixed  spirit 
of  fierce  intolerance,  and  accommodating  casuistry, 
to  which  men  grow  prone  under  the  tuition  of  Popes 
and  Cardinals.     It  was  certainly  not  the  spirit  of 


S38 

Christian  meekness  that  produced  the  extraordinary 
contradiction  which  appears  between  Castro's 
works,  in  Spain,  and  his  sermon,  in  London;  but  the 
same  ambitious  views  of  Philip,  which  made  him 
endeavour  to  acquire  popularity  by  protecting  the 
Lady  Elizabeth  from  the  spite  of  the  Queen,  and  by 
procuring  the  release  of  Lord  Henry  Dudley,  Sir 
George  Harper,  Sir  Nicholas  Throgmorton,  and 
many  others,  who,  as  Hume  observes,  had  been  con- 
fined, from  the  suspicions  or  resentments  of  the 
court. 

I  have,  in  the  next  place,  to  show  the  true  charac* 
ter  of  that  liberal  Council  of  Toledo,  whose  open 
profession  of  toleration  is  so  triumphantly  adduced 
by  the  advocate  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
*'The  fourth  Council  of  Toledo  had  declared,"  says 
Mr.  Butler,  "that  it  was  unlawful  and  unchristian- 
like  to  force  people  to  believe,  seeing  it  is  God 
alone  who  hardens  and  shows  mercy  to  whom  he 
will."  A  noble  declaration,  indeed,  to  come  from 
the  seat  of  one  of  the  Spanish  inquisitions!  But 
when  did  this  humane  Council  meet,  and  what  was 
its  general  character?  Did  it  apply  this  broad 
principle  to  every  dissenting  sect?  Did  it  really  an- 
ticipate the  Protestants  in  the  recognition  of  the 
right  of  /irivate  judgment  in  matters  of  faith?  Our 
author  will  not  deprive  his  cause  of  the  chance  that 
his  readers  will  answer  all  these  questions  in  the 
sense  most  favourable  to  the  object  for  which  the 
quotation  is  made.  I  will,  however,  deal  more  ex- 
plicit! v  upon  these  points 


S39 

The  fourth  Council  of  Toledo  was  held  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  634.  Mariana,  the  Spanish  his- 
torian, says  that  Sisenand(an  usurper  who,  with  the 
aid  of  Dagobert,  king-  of  France,  had  deposed  Swin- 
thila)  "convened  from  all  parts  of  his  dominions 
about  seventy  bishops,  at  Toledo,  under  colour  of 
reforming"  the  morals  of  the  ecclesiastics,  which  the 
troubles  of  the  times  had  greatly  depraved;  but  with 
the  real  object  that  the  fathers  should  condemn 
Swinthila,  as  unworthy  of  the  crown,  and  by  this 
means,  both  his  open  followers  and  secret  friends 
might  be  made  to  change  their  minds  and  be 
quiet."*  It  is  probable  that  this  holy  council,  find- 
ing it  necessary  to  allay  the  alarm  of  the  Jews, 
whose  wealth  was  for  many  centuries  the  best  re- 
source of  the  Spanish  kings,  was  induced  to  pass  the 
decree  in  their  favour^  which  Mr.  Butler  gives  us  as 
an  unlimited  declaration  in  behalf  of  all  dissenters 
from  the  Church  of  Rome.  Numbers  of  that  per- 
secuted people  had  been  forced  to  receive  baptism 
by  a  law  of  Sisebute.  This  law  alone  is  repealed 
by  the  fourth  Council  of  Toledo.  Had  Mr.  Butler 
either  read  the  original  decrees,  or  wished  to  state 
the  whole  matter  without  curtailment,  the  character 
of  his  church  would  have  gained  little  from  the 
liberality  of  the  Toletan  fathers.  Indeed  the  same 
canon  of  the  Council,  which  favours  the  world  with 
the  comprehensive  principles  of  toleration  which 
have  been  adduced  as  a  parallel  to  the  most  liberal 

*  Meriana,  Book  vi.c.  5. 


5SJ40 

concessions  of  the  Protestants  on  that  point,  declares 
that  the  Jews  loho  ivere  baptized  by  force  should  be 
compelled  to  the  observance  of  Christianity.  I  will 
subjoin  the  whole  decree: 

Canon.  55.  "De  Jud xis  autem  hoc  prsecepit  sancta 
synodus  nemini  deinceps  ad  credendum  vim  inferre. 
Cui  enim  vult  Deus  nniseretur,  et  quern  vult  indurat. 
Non  enim  tales  inviti  salvandi  sunt,  sed  volentes,  ut 
Integra  sit  forma  justiti.£.  Sicut  enim  homo  pro- 
pria arbitrii  voluntate  surpenti  obediens,  periit  sic 
(vocante  se  gratia  Dei)  propria^  mentis  conveisione 
quisque  credendo,  salvatur.  Ergo  Kon  vi,  sed  libera 
arbitrii  facultate  ut  convertantur  suadendi  sunt  non 
potius  impellendi.  Qui  autem  jarn  firidem  ad  Chris- 
tiahitatem  venire  coarti  sunt  f  sicut  factufn  est  temfiori- 
bus  reiigiosissimi  firinci/iis  SisebutiJ  quia  jam  constat 
eos  sacramentis  divinis  associatos,  et  ba/itismi  graiam 
suscefiisse^  et  Chrismate  unctos  esse,  et  corfioris  Domini^ 
et  sangicinis  extitisce  fiarticij[ies;  ofiortet  utjidem  etiam 
quA>f  VI  VEL  NECESSITATE  suscEPERUNT  teuerc  cogau- 
fur,  ne  nomen  Do?nini  blasfihemetur;  et  Jides  quam 
suscefierunt  contemfitibilis  habeatur.''^* 

But  I  have  in  reserve  a  string  of  tender  mercies, 

•  The  Spaniard,  Carranza,  not  satisfied  with  the  inquisi- 
torial force  authorized  by  the  latter  part  of  this  canon,  took 
care  to  omit,  in  his  Summa  Conciliorum,  the  words,  "Erg-o 
non  vi,  sed  libera  arbitrii  facultate  ut  convertantur  suadendi 
sunt,  non  potius  impellendi."  Yet  Carranza  himself  was  sus- 
pected and  imprisoned  by  the  Inquisition.  My  tanscript  of 
this  and  following  canons  is  from  the  Collection  of  the  Jesuits, 
Labbe  and  Gossart,  vol.  v.  p.  1720. 


;^41 

such  as  flowed  from  the  tolerant  principle  of  the 
liberal  Council  of  Toledo.  They  are  recorded  in 
the  same  page  with  the  proclamation  of  mental 
freedom,  by  which  the  apologist  of  Rome  has  stop- 
ped the  mouths  of  those  who  charge  his  church 
with  intolerance. 

The  models  of  Roman  Catholic  liberality,  having 
in  the  55th  canon  forbidden  the  Jews,  baptized  by 
force,  to  return  to  their  religion,  proceed  in  the 
60th  to  provide  for  the  spiritual  safety  of  children 
born  of  unconverted  parents,  from  whom  they  are 
directed  to  be  taken  away  and  placed  in  convents. 
Judseorum  Jilios  vel  Jiliasy  ne  fiarentum  ultro  invol- 
■vaniur  erroi'ibus,  ab  eorum  consortio  sefiarari  decerni- 
mu8.  The  forced  converts  are  then  made  the  ob- 
jects of  the  Council's  anxiety.  To  prevent  the  se- 
cret exercise  of  their  national  practices,  all  inter- 
course between  them  and  their  unconverted  bre- 
thren is  made  punishable,  by  making  the  unbap- 
tized  parties  slaves  to  the  Christians,  and  putting 
the  offending  neophytes  to  death.  J^ulla  igitur  ul- 
tra communio  sit  Hebrceis  adfidem  Christianam  trans^ 
latis^  cum  his  qui  adhuc  in  uetere  ritu  consistunt;  ne 
forte  eorum  fiarticifiatione  subvertantur.  Quicutn- 
que  igitur  amodo  ex  his  qui  bafitizati  sunt,  infidelium 
consortia  non  vitaverint;  et  hi  Christianis  donentur^ 
et  illifiublicii  ccddibus  defiutentur.  Finally,  the  63d 
canon  orders  that  Jews  married  to  Christian  wo- 
men be  divorced  from  their  wives,  unless  they  sub- 
mit to  be  baptized. 

There  is  a  sacred  duty  incumbent  on  every  man 
T 


who  appears  as  an  author  before  the  public,  which 
the  writer  of  the  Book  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
has,  I  fear,  often  overlooked  in  his  work;  but  sel- 
dom more  openly  than  in  the  present  instance.— 
The  best  excuse  is,  that  the  apologist  of  Rome  has 
copied  from  others;  but  dishonesty  lies  somewhere: 
the  garbled  statement  comes,  no  doubt,  from  among 
the  writers  of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion  who 
have  lately  appeared  before  the  British  public. — 
Am  I  not  therefore  justified  in  earnestly  saying  to 
that  public — Bewarel 


D. — Page  89. 

tRANSUBSTANTIATION. 

An  accurate  and  detailed  history  of  the  rise  and 
gradual  progress  of  the  doctrine  of  Transubstan- 
tiation,  would  be  a  valuable  contribution  to  the 
philosophy  of  the  human  mind.  What  appears  to 
me  most  deserving  the  attention  of  philosophical 
observers,  is  the  concurrence  of  two  perfectly  un- 
connected errors,  in  giving  birth  to  this  intellectual 
monster. 

The  natural  propensity  of  mankind  to  refer 
their  worship  of  the  invisible  to  the  symbols  em- 
ployed to  express  it,  is  found  even  among  the  early 
Christians.  A  great  reverence  for  the  bread  and 
wine,  which,  in  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  were  call- 


S43 

ed  his  flesh  and  blood,  far  from  beings  to  blame  in 
them,  must  be  viewed  as  a  direct  consequence  of 
the  certainty  they    possessed,   that   the  Eucharist 
had  been  established  by  the  Son  of  God.     But  here 
the  usual  process  of  the  vulgar  mind  began.      Ab- 
stractions and  distinctions  are  difficult  and  painful 
to  the  generality  of  mankind.      The  spiritual,  pre- 
sence of  Christ,  the  intimate  connexion  between  an 
external  and  simple  act  of  eating  and  drinking,  and 
the  influence  of  his  grace  on  the  soul  of  those  who 
eat  and   drink  by  faith  in  his   death   and  passion, 
was   soon   lost  sight  of.      Though  Christ  himself 
had  declared  that  "the  flesh  profiteth  nothing,"  the 
bread  and  wine  gradually  assumed  the  character  of 
his  material  flesh  and  blood.     Yet  neither  the  peo- 
ple nor  their  leaders  were  able   to  use  any  definite 
language  upon  the  mysterious  work  of  consecration. 
It  happened,  however,  in  the  metaphysical  ages 
(such  name,  I  believe,  would   suit  the  period  be- 
tween the  twelfth  and  the  sixteenth  centuries)  that 
every  system   which   successively  occupied  the  at- 
tention of  the  schools,  had  an  eff'ect  not  unlike  that 
which   is  now   produced   by  physical  discoveries, 
though  upon  very  dissimilar  objects.     A  newly  dis- 
covered law  or  power  of  nature,  in  our  days,  puts 
the  whole  mass  of  European  intellect  into  motion: 
a  thousand    applications  are    tried,   ten   thousand 
hopes  of  improvement  are  raised,  till  the  efferve- 
scence is  sobered  down  by  experience  and  failure. 
A   new   metaphysical   system   produced    in    those 
Times  a  similar  state  of  mind,  among  the  class  who 


t4i^ 

pursued  abstract  knowledge,  with  regard  to  the  ob- 
jects of  their  favourite  studies,  and  that  without 
any  thing  to  check  it.  Platonism  first,  and  then 
Aristotleism,  were  believed  to  be  sufficient  to  ex- 
plain every  mystery  in  theology.  The  success, 
however,  of  the  latter  was  unrivalled  in  defining, 
explaining,  and  demonstrating  the  as  yet  indistinct 
and  fluctuating  theory  of  the  Eucharist. 

One  of  the  doctrines  introduced  by  the  Aristote- 
lian system  of  the  school,  is  that  of  substantial  for  jnsj 
or  ab&olute  accidents.*  The  schoolmen  suppose 
that  the  universe  consists  of  a  mass  of  matter,  in- 
vested by  certain  forms  or  qualities,  which  possess 
a  real  and  substantial  being.  This  was  a  lucky  dis- 
covery for  the  school  divines.  Itexplamed  the  bo- 
dily presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament.  The  sub- 
stance  of  the  bread  and  wine,  they  said,  is  converted 
into  his  body  and  blood;  but  the  absolute  accidents, 
the  substantial  forms  of  both,  remain  as  before. — 
Hence  the  word  transubstantiatio7i. 

The  idea  of  a  general  mass  shaped  by  these  sub- 
stantial forms  or  moulds,  is  so  agreeable  to  the  ex- 
ternal impressions  of  mankind,  and  so  analogous  to 
the  operations  by  which  what  we  call  materials  are 
converted  into  objects  fitted  for  peculiar  uses;  that 

*  The  schoolmen  have  foisted  many  of  their  absurdities 
upon  the  Greek  philosopher.  From  the  definition  which 
Aristotle  gives  of  matter,  it  is  evident  that  he  considered 
that  word  as  the  sign  of  an  abstraction.  "Materia  est  neque 
quid,  neque  quantum,  nee  aliud  eorum  quibus  ens  denomi- 
natur.'*    I  quote  the  translation  used  among  the  schoolmen 


245 

the  words  in  which  the  school  philosophers  ex- 
pressed them,  have  been  incorporated  with  all  the 
European  languages.* 

That  the  doctrine  of  iransubstantiation  could  not 
have  been  established  without  the  aid  of  Aristotle/ 
any  one  who  examines  the  technical  words  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  divines  upon  that  question,  will 
readily  perceive.  Of  this  they  were  so  fully  con- 
vinced but  a  short  time  ago,  that  I  recollect  the 
opposition  to  which  the  modern  system  of  natural 
philosophy  was  still  subject  in  my  youth,  as  de- 
priving the  Roman  Catholic  faith  of  its  chief  sup- 
port, by  the  rejection  of  the  substantial  forms.  In- 
deed iransubstantiation  conveys  either  no  meaning 
at  all,  or  one  entirely  the  reverse  of  what  Rome  in- 
tends; unless  we  suppose  the  separableness  oi  sub- 
stanr.e^  and  forms  or  qualities.  The  substance  of 
the  bread  and  wine,  it  is  said,  is  converted  into  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ;  which,  translated  into 
any  language  but  that  of  the  schools  means  that 
the  body  of  Christ  (I  wish  to  speak  reverently,) 

*  It  is  curious  to  trace  to  the  same  source  even  the  word 
elements^  which  seems  to  have  been  chosen  by  the  Protes- 
tants as  tlie  most  independent  from  the  theory  of  Iransub- 
stantiation. Elements  is  another  scholastic  name  for  that 
substratum  which  is  conceived  to  bear  the  qualities  of  things, 
"Omnium  elementa  possunt  invicem  in  se  transmutari,  non 
generatione,  sed  alteratione."  The  bread  and  wine  were 
elements^  because  they  were  supposed  to  be  changed  into 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  See  Brucker,  Hist.  Fhilos, 
Part  II.  Lib.  II.  c.  vil. 
T  2 


S46 

chemically  analyzed  in  the  consecrated  bread  and 
wine,  will  be  found  to  consist  of  every  thing  that 
constitutes  bread  and  wine:  i.  e.  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  will  be  found  to  have  been  converted  into 
real  bread  and  wine.  What  else  do  we  designate 
by  bread  and  by  wine,  but  two  aggregates  of  quali- 
ties, identical  to  what  the  analytical  process  will 
show  after  consecration?  Substance  without  quali- 
ties is  a  mere  abstraction  of  the  mind;  with  quali> 
ties,  it  is  that  which  the  qualities  make  it.  So 
here  we  have  a  mighty  miracle  to  convert  Christ 
into  bread  and  wine;  for  such  would  be  the  sub- 
stance of  his  body  and  blood  if  it  changed  its  quali- 
ties for  those  of  the  two  well  known  compounds 
which  the  Roman  Catholics  adore.  If  it  is  said 
that  Christ  occupies  the  place  of  the  bread  and  wine, 
and  produces  the  impressions  peculiar  to  them  on 
the  senses,  the  supposed  miracle  should  change  the 
name  of  transubstantiation  into  that  of  delusion. — 
Surely  transubstantiation  has  for  its  basis  the  most 
absurd  philosophical  system  which  ever  disgraced 
the  schools  of  a  barbarous  age! 


E.— Page  106. 

UNCERTAINTY  OF  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  INFALLIBILITY. 

Nothing  can   be  more  certain  than  the  uncer- 
tainty of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  as  to  the  seat 


S47 

and  source  of  her  protended  infalUbility.  If  any 
thing  can  be  deduced  from  the  vague  and  unsettled 
principles  of  her  divines,  on  this  subject,  it  would 
appear  that  infallibility  finally  resolves  itself  into  the 
authority  of  the  Pope.  For,  as  no  council  whatever 
is  deemed  infallible  till  the  Pope  has  sanctioned  its 
decrees,  the  pretended  assistance  from  heaven  must 
apply  to  that  discriminating  oracle,  on  whose  de- 
cision the  supernatural  authority  of  the  councils  de- 
pends. 

The  opening  speech  of  the  papal  legates  who  pre- 
sided at  the  council  of  Trent  represents  the  expect- 
ed inspiration  as  conditional;  a  very  natural  caution 
in  the  representatives  of  that  see,  which  has  always 
most  strenuously  opposed  the  notion  that  the  Pope 
is  inferior  to  a  general  council.  After  a  candid 
acknowledgment  of  the  enormous  corruptions  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  which  the  reader  will 
find  hereafter,  the  legates  speak  of  the  expected  in- 
spiration in  the  following  words:— 

"Quare  nisi  ille  spiritus  nos  apud  nos  metipsos 
primum  condemnaverit,  nondum  ilium  ingressum 
esse  ad  nos  affirmare  possumus,  ac  ne  ingressurum 
quidem,  si  peccata  nostra  audire  recusamus.  Idem 
enim  dicetur  nobis,  quod  populo  veteri  per  prophe- 
tam  Ezechielem  est  dictum,  cum  nondum  agnitis 
suis  sceleribus,  Dominum  per  prophetam  interro- 
gare  vellent.  Venerunt  viri  Israel  ad  interrogandum 
Dominu?ny  et  sederunt  coram  me.  Hcsc  autem  dicit 
Dominus:  numquid  ad  interrogandum  me  venistis? 
Vivo  egOy  dicit  Dominus^  quia  non  re  sfiondebo  vobia. 


S48 

Sequitur  uutcm,  sijudicaa  eos,  abominationes  fiatrtun 
illorum  ostende  illis.  In  quibus  verbis  ostendit  Dens, 
quarc  noluerit  respondere  illis,  quia  noiidum  scilicet 
abominationes  suas  et  patrum  suorum  audierant. 
Quarc  cum  idem  Dei  Spiritus  sit,  qui  tunc  dabat 
responsa,  et  quern  nunc  nos  sedentes  coram  Domino 
invocaraus,  quid  nobis  faciendum  sit,  ut  propria  re- 
sponsa habearaus,  ex  his  videtis Quia  vero  non- 

nullos  nunc  videmus,  sua  primum  peccata,  et  nostri 
ordinis  graviter  deflentes,  atque  Dei  misericordiam 
omnibus  votis  implorantes,  ideo  quidem  in  maxima 
sfie  sumus^  advenisse,  quern  invocamus,  Dei  Spirit- 
ura." — Concilia  per  Labbeum  et  Gossartium,  Tom. 
XIV.  p.  738. 

It  is  clear  that  the  le.j^ates  grounded  their  hopes 
of  inspiration  for  the  Council,  on  the  marks  of  re- 
pentance which  they  perceived  in  some  of  its  mem- 
bers. Must  then  Roman  Catholics  ascertain  the 
spiritual  condition  of  their  oracles,  before  they  ad- 
mit them  to  the  privilege  of  infallibility?  It  should 
seem,  however,  that  the  Popes  are  not  subject  to 
such  restrictions  in  the  use  of  their  infallible  sanc- 
tion; else,  a  man  with  the  moral  tact  of  Alexander 
VI.  would  have  been  subject  to  strange  mistakes,  in 
calculating  the  fitness  of  the  bishops  in  council,  to 
receive  an  inspiration  totally  dependent  on  moral 
character. 


^49 


F — Page   133. 

CASE  OF  A  SPANISH  PROTESTANT  PRIEST,  IMPRISONED  BY 
THE    INqUISITION  IN    1802. 

Since  the  execution  of  the  unhappy  woman  whose 
death  I  mention  in  the  5th  Letter,  the  Spanish  In- 
quisitors seemed  less  disposed  to  shed  blood.  It  is 
also  true  that  men  were  also  much  more  averse  to 
•sacrifice  their  lives  to  their  religious  views,  than  at 
the  time  of  the  Reformation.  Spain,  which  in  the 
16th  century  gave  a  host  of  martyrs  to  Protestant 
Christianity*,  has,  of  late,  produced  but  one  instance 
of  the  power  of  the  Scriptures  "in  an  honest  and 
good  heart."  This  most  interesting  case  is  related 
by  the  secretary  of  the  Inquisition  of  Madrid,  Llo- 
rente,  in  his  History  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition, 
Vol.  IV.  p.  \27. 

Don  Miguel  Juan  Antonio  Solano,  a  native  of 
Verdun,  in  Arragon,  was  vicar  of  Esco,  in  the  dio- 
cess  of  Jaca.  His  benevolence  and  exemplary  con* 
duct  endeared  him  to  his  parishioners.  Though 
educated  according  to  the  Aristotelian  system,  and 
the  school  divinity,  which  was  very  lately  preva- 
lent at  many  of  the  Spanish  universities;  the  natur- 
al strength  of  his  mind  led  him  to  study  pure  ma- 

•  See  Art.  9  of  No,  57  of  the  Quarterly  Review^  in  which 
the  author  of  the  present  work  g-ave  an  account  of  the  Span- 
ish Reformers,  and  their  suffering's. 


250 

Uiematics,  and  mechanics,  by  himself.  The  good- 
ness of  his  heart  combined  with  his  inventive  tal- 
ents in  the  work  of  fertilizing  a  dale,  or  rather  a 
mere  ravine,  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  of  his 
parish,  which  lay  waste  for  want  of  irrigation.— 
Without  any  help  from  the  government,  and  with 
no  mechanical  means  but  the  spades  of  the  pea- 
sants, he  succeeded  in  diverting  the  waters  of  a 
mountain  streamlet  upon  the  slip  of  vegetable  soil 
which  had  been  deposited  in  the  glen. 

A  long  and  severe  illness,  which  made  him  a 
cripple  for  life,  withdrew  the  good  vicar  of  Esco 
from  these  active  pursuits,  and  limited  his  employ- 
ment to  the  perusal  of  the  few  books  which  his  lit- 
tle library  afforded.  Fortunately  the  Bible  was  one 
of  them.  Solano  read  the  records  of  revelation 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  embrace  religious  truth, 
as  he  found  it  there;  and  having  gradually  cleared 
and  arranged  his  views,  drew  up  a  little  system  of 
divinity,  which  agreed  in  the  main  points  with  the 
fundamental  tenets  of  the  Protestant  churches.  His 
conviction  of  the  Roman  Catholic  errors  became 
so  strong,  that  he  determined  to  lay  his  book  be- 
fore the  bishop  of  the  diocess,  asking  his  pastoral 
help  and  advice  upon  that  most  important  subject. 
An  answer  to  his  arguments  was  promised;  but 
despairing  after  a  lapse  of  time  to  obtain  it,  Solano 
applied  to  the  faculty  of  divinity  of  the  University 
of  Saragossa.  The  reverend  doctors  sent  the  book 
to  the  Inquisition,  and  the  infirm  vicar  of  Esco  was 
lodged  in  the  prisons  of  the  holy  tribunal  of  Sara- 


S5i 

^ossa.  This  happened  in  1802.  It  seems  that 
some  humane  persons  contrived  his  escape  soon 
after,  and  conveyed  him  to  Oleron,  the  nearest 
French  town.  But  Solano,  having  taken  time  to 
consider  his  case,  came  to  the  heroic  resolution  of 
asserting  the  truth  in  the  very  face  of  death;  and 
returned  of  his  own  accord  to  the  inquisitorial  pri- 
sons. 

The  Inquisitor  General,  at  that  time,  was  Arce, 
archbishop  of  Santiago,  an  intimate  friend  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace;  and  one  strongly  suspected  of  se- 
cret infidelity.  When  the  sentence  of  the  Arago- 
nese  tribunal,  condemning  Solano  to  die  by  fire, 
was  presented  to  the  supreme  court  for  confirma- 
tion, Arce,  shocked  at  the  idea  of  an  auto-da-fe, 
contrived  every  method  to  delay  the  execution.  A 
fresh  examination  of  witnesses  was  ordered;  during 
which  the  inquisitors  entreated  Solano  to  avert  his 
now  imminent  danger.  Nothing,  however,  could 
move  him.  He  said  he  well  knew  the  death  that 
awaited  him;  but  no  human  fear  would  ever  make 
him  swerve  from  the  truth.  The  first  sentence  be- 
ing confirmed,  nothing  remained  but  the  exequatur 
of  the  sufireme.  Arce,  however,  suspended  it,  and 
ordered  an  inquiry  into  the  mental  sanity  of  the  pri- 
soner. As  nothing  appeared  to  support  this  plea, 
Solano  would  have  died  at  the  stake,  had  not  Pro- 
vidence snatched  him  from  the  hands  of  the  papal 
defenders  of  the  faith.  A  dangerous  illness  seized 
him  in  the  prison,  where  he  had  lingered  three 
years.     The  efforts  to  convert  him  were,  on  this  oc- 


g5S 

casion,  renewed  with  increased  ardour.  "The  in- 
quisitors," says  Llorente,  "gave  it  in  charge  to  the 
most  able  divines  of  Saragossa  to  reclaim  Solano; 
and  even  requested  Don  Miguel  Suarez  de  Santan- 
der,  auxiliary  bishop  of  that  town,  and  apostolic 
missionary  (now,  like  myself,  a  refugee  in  France), 
to  exhort  him,  with  all  the  tenderness  and  goodness 
of  a  Christian  minister,  which  are  so  natural  to  that 
worthy  prelate.  The  vicar  showed  a  grateful  sense 
of  all  that  was  done  for  him;  but  declared  that  he 
could  not  renounce  his  religious  persuasion  without 
offending  God  by  acting  treacherously  against  the 
truth.  On  the  twenty-first  day  of  his  illness,  the 
physician  warned  him  of  approaching  death,  urg- 
ing him  to  improve  the  short  time  which  he  had  to 
live.  'I  am  in  the  hands  of  God,'  answered  Solano, 
*and  have  nothing  else  to  do.'  Thus  died,  in  1805, 
the  vicar  of  Esco.  He  was  denied  Christian  burial, 
and  his  body  privately  interred  within  the  inclosure 
of  the  Inquisition,  near  the  back  gate  of  the  build- 
ing, towards  the  Ebro.  The  inquisitors  reported 
all  that  had  taken  place  to  the  supreme  tribunal, 
whose  members  approved  their  conduct,  and  stopt 
further  proceedings.  In  order  to  avoid  the  necessity 
of  burning  the  deceased,  in  effigy." 


H Page   1S7. 

The  account  of  nuns  and  friars  which  Erasmus 
gives  in  the  dialogue  from  which  I  borrowed  the 


253 

passage  in  the  text,  so  perfectly  agrees  with  all  I 
know  of  them — the  arts  by  which  girls  are  now 
drawn  into  monasteries  are  so  similar  to  those 
which  he  describes — and  the  reasons  he  uses  to 
dissuade  the  young  enthusiast  from  sacrificing  her 
liberty,  are  so  applicable  to  every  case  of  that  kind 
in  our  days,  that  I  hope  the  reader  will  pardon  me 
for  inserting  the  whole  dialogue,  in  the  elegant 
translation  of  my  excellent  friend  the  Rev.  Robert 
Butler;  to  whom  I  am  also  indebted  for  the  follow- 
ing notice  of  the  alarm  which  those  delightful 
compositions,  the  Colloquies,  excited  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris. 

"The  faculty  of  theology  passed  a  general  cen- 
sure in  1526  upon  the  Colloquies  of  Erasmus,  as 
upon  a  work  in  which  the  fasts  and  abstinences  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  are  slighted,  the  suffrages  of 
the  Holy  Virgin  and  of  the  saints  are  derided,  vir- 
ginity is  set  below  matrimony,  Christians  are  dis- 
couraged from  monkery,  and  grammatical  is  pre- 
ferred to  theological  erudition.  Therefore,  it  is 
decreed  that  the  perusal  of  this  wicked  book  be 
forbidden  to  all,  more  especially  to  young  folks; 
and  that  it  be  entirely  suppressed  if  it  be  possible.** 
From  Dupin^  as  quoted  in  Jortin*8  History  of  £ra^» 
mus,  Vol.  I./i,  298. 


u 


^5^ 


ERASMUSES  DIALOGUE,    ENTITLED  VIRGO  MlSOFAMO^, 
OR  THE  MARRIAGE-HATING  MAIDEN. 

Mubulus, -^Catharine. 

Eu.  I  rejoice  that  dinner  is  at  last  over,  and  that 
we  are  at  leisure  to  enjoy  this  delightful  walk. 

Ca.  It  was  quite  wearisome  to  sit  so  long  at  ta- 
ble. 

Eu.  How  every  thing  smiles  around  us!    Truly 
this  is  the  very  youth  and  spring-time  of  the  world. 

Ca.  It  is  so,  indeed! 

Eu.  And  why  is  it  not  with  thee  also  the  spring- 
time of  smiles  and  joy? 

Ca.  Wherefore  do  you  ask  such  a  question? 

Eu.  Because  I  perceive  a  sadness  in  your  coun- 
tenance. 

Ca.  Are  my  looks  then  different  from  what  they 
are  wont  to  be? 

Eu.  Would  you  like  me  to  show  you  to  yourself? 

Ca.  Of  all  things. 

Eu.  You  see  this  rose.  Observe  how,  as  the  night 
approaches,  it  contracts  its  leaves. 

Ca.  Well  I  and  what  then  ? 

Eu.  It  thus  presents  you  with  an  image  of  your 
own  countenance. 

Ca.  a  most  excellent  comparison! 

Eu.  If  you  will  not  believe  me,  look  at  yourself 
in  this  little  fountain.  Those  frequent  sighs,  too, 
during  dinner— tell  me  what  could  be  the  meanings 
of  them? 


255 

Ca.  Question  me  no  farther.  The  subject  is  one 
in  which  you  are  not  concerned. 

Eu.  Nay,  Catharine:  it  cannot  but  concern  one 
whose  happiness  is  bound  up  in  thine.  Another 
sigh?     Alas!  how  deeply  drawnl 

Ca.  My  mind  is  in  a  state  of  great  anxiety;  but  I 
cannot  safely  mention  the  cause. 

Eu.  What!  not  even  to  him  who  loves  thee  better 
than  he  loves  his  own  sister?  Fear  not,  dearest  Ca- 
tharine; let  the  secret  of  thy  affliction  be  what  it 
may,  rest  assured  that  it  is  safe  in  my  keeping, 

Ca.  That  may  be;  but  I  should  tell  it  to  one  who 
would  give  me  no  assistance. 

Eu.  How  know  you  that?  I  might,  at  least,  have 
it  in  my  power  to  aid  you  by  advice  and  consolation. 

Ca.  I  cannot  tell. 

Eu.  How  is  this?     You  hate  me,  then,  Catharine. 

Ca.  Yes;  if  I  can  hate  my  own  brother;  and  yet  I 
cannot  bring  myself  to  tell  thee. 

Eu.  Should  I  be  able  to  guess  the  cause  of  your 
suffering,  will  you  confess  it?  Nay,  do  not  turn 
away:  promise  me,  or  else  I  will  never  cease  to  im- 
portune thee. 

Ca.  Well,  I  promise. 

Eu.  I  do  not  at  all  understand  what  can  be  want* 
ing  to  make  you  perfectly  happy. 

Ca.  O  that  my  condition  were  really  such  as  you 
conceive  it  to  bel 

Eu.  In  the  first  place,  you  are  in  the  flower  of 
your  age;  for  if  I  mistake  not,  you  are  now  in  your 
seventeenth  year. 


S56 

Ca.  Just  so. 

Eu.  The  apprehension,  then,  of  old  age  cannot. 
1  suppose,  be  the  source  of  your  trouble? 

Ca.  Nothing  in  the  world  troubles  me  less. 

Eu.  You  have  a  form  that  is  perfect  in  every  part; 
and  this  is  one  of  God's  chief  gifts. 

Ca.  Of  my  form,  such  as  it  is,  I  neither  boast  nor 
complain. 

Eu.  Then  your  colour  and  habit  of  body  indicate 
that  you  are  in  sound  health — unless  indeed  you 
carry  about  you  some  secret  disease. 

Ca.  Nothing  of  the  kind,  I  thank  God. 

Eu.  Your  character,  moreover,  is  unspotted. 

Ca.  I  trust  so. 

Eu.  You  have  a  mind  also  worthy  of  the  body 
wherein  it  dwells;  a  mind  of  the  happiest  disposi- 
tion, and  as  apt  as  I  could  desire  for  every  liberal 
pursuit  and  study. 

Ca.  Whatever  it  may  be,  it  is  the  gift  of  God. 

Eu.  Neither  is  there  any  want  of  that  loveliest 
grace  of  moral  excellence,  the  absence  of  which  is 
too  often  to  be  regretted  in  forms  of  the  most  per- 
fect beauty. 

Ca.  It  is  certainly  my  desire  that  my  behaviour 
should  be  such  as  becomes  my  situation. 

Eu.  Many  are  dejected  in  mind  on  account  of  the 
infelicity  of  their  birth;  but  you,  on  the  contrary, 
have  parents  of  honourable  descent  and  of  virtuous 
manners — possessed  also  of  an  ample  fortune,  and 
attached  to  you  with  the  fondest  affection. 

Ca.  I  have  nothing,  in  this  respect,  to  complain 
of. 


257 

]^v.  In  a  word,  of  all  the  maidens  tn  this  neigh- 
bourhood there  is  not  one  (were  some  propitious 
star  to  shine  upon  me)  whom  I  would  choose  for  a 
wife  but  thee. 

Ca.  And  I,  if  I  had  any  wish  to  marry,  would  de- 
sire no  other  husband  than  thyself. 

Eu.  Surely  then  it  must  be  something  very  extra- 
ordinary which  can  occasion  you  so  much  trouble? 

Ca.  Something  of  no  light  moment,  be  assured. 

Eu.  Will  you  not  take  it  ill  if  I  divine  what  it  is? 

Ca.  I  have  already  promised  not  to  do  so. 

Eu.  Well  then,  experience  has  taught  me  what 
pain  there  is  in  love.  Come,  confess,  according  to 
your  promise. 

Ca.  To  say  the  truth,  love  is  the  cause;  but  not 
the  kind  of  love  you  mean. 

Eu.  What  kind  then?    ' 

Ca.  Divine  love. 

Eu.  I  have  done;  my  stock  of  conjecture  is  ex- 
hausted: and  yet  I  will  not  let  go  this  hand  of  thine 
till  I  wrest  thy  secret  from  thee. 

Ca.  How  violent  you  arel 

Eu.  Only  confide  it  to  me,  whatever  it  may  be. 

Ca.  Well,  since  you  are  so  very  urgent  about  it, 
I  will  tell  you.  Know  then,  that  from  my  tenderest 
years  a  passion  of  an  extraordinary  nature  has  pos- 
sessed me. 

Eu.  What  can  it  be?  to  become  a  nun? 

Ca.  Just  so. 

Eu.  Hem!  I  have  gained  a  loss! 

Ca.  What  is  it  you  say,  Eubulus? 
U2 


10 


258 

Eu.  Nothing,  my  love:  I  only  coughed.     Go  on- 
I  pray  you. 

Ca.  The  desire  I  have  mentioned  to  you  was  al- 
ways opposed  by  my  parents  with  the  greatest  per- 
tinacity. 

Eu.  I  understand. 

Ca.  On  the  other  hand,  T  for  my  part,  never  ceas- 
ed to  besiege  their  affection  with  entreaties,  cares- 
ses, and  tears. 

Eu.  You  surprise  me. 

Ca.  At  length  my  perseverance  in  this  course  so 
far  prevailed  upon  them,  that  they  promised  that, 
if  I  should  continue  in  the  same  mind  upon  my  en- 
tering into  my  seventeenth  year,  they  would  then 
yield  to  my  wishes:  that  year  is  now  arrived;  my 
desire  remains  unchanged;  and  yet,  in  opposition 
lo  their  promise,  they  positively  refuse  to  gratify 
it:  this  it  is  that  troubles  me.  I  have  now  disclos- 
ed to  you  the  nature  of  my  disease:  prescribe  the 
remedy,  if  you  have  any. 

Eu.  In  the  first  place,  let  me  counsel  you,  sweet- 
est maiden,  to  moderate  your  desires;  and  if  you 
cannot  obtain  what  you  would,  to  wish  for  no  more 
than  what  may  be  in  your  power  to  obtain. 

Ca.  I  shall  die  if  I  do  not  obtain  the  present  ob- 
ject of  my  wishes. 

Eu.  But  what  could  have  given  rise  to  this  fatal 
passion? 

Ca.  Some  years  ago,  when  quite  a  girl,  I  was  ta- 
ken into  a  convent,  where  they  led  me  about  and 
shoved  me  every  thing.    I  was  charmed  with  the 


n59 

sweet  looks  of  the  nuns,  who  seemed  to  me  like  so 
many  angels;  and  was  delighted  with  the  beautiful 
appearance  of  every  thing  in  the  chapel,  and  with 
the  fragrance  and  pleasantness  of  gardens  dressed 
and  cultivated  with  the  nicest  art.  In  short,  which- 
ever way  I  turned  my  eyes,  every  thing  smiled  up- 
on me.  Add  to  this,  the  pleasant  conversation  I 
had  with  the  nuns  themselves,  some  of  whom  I  dis- 
covered to  have  been  my  playfellows  during  my 
childhood.  From  this  period  it  was  that  I  conceiv- 
ed the  ardent  desire  I  have  to  adopt  the  same  kind 
of  life. 

Eu.  It  certainly  is  not  my  intention  to  reprobate 
the  institution  of  nunneries,*  though  the  same 
things  are  not  of  equal  advantage  to  all;  and  yet, 
from  my  opinion  of  the  nature  of  your  disposition, 
such  as  it  appears  to  me  from  your  countenance 
and  manners,  my  advice  to  you  would  be,  to  marry 
a  husband  of  a  character  similar  to  your  own,  and 
thus  give  rise  to  a  new  society  at  home,  of  which 
your  husband  should  be  the  father,  and  yourself 
the  mother. 

Ca.  I  will  rather  die  than  give  up  my  purpose. 

Eu.  A  virgin  life,  if  purity  attend  it,  is  no  doubt 
an  excellent  thing;  but  it  does  not  require  you  so  to 
bind  yourself  to  a  particular  convent,  as  to  be  una- 
ble afterwards  to  leave  it.     Surely,  you  may  live  at 

*  **...  Mihi  aliud  dictabat  animus,  aliud  scrlbebat  calamus," 
is  the  melancholy  acknowledgment  which  Erasmus  made^ 
of  his  own  want  of  courage. 


260 

home  with  your  parents,  and  preserve  at  the  same 
lime  your  virgin  honour? 

Ca.  True;  but  not  with  equal  safety. 

Eu.  In  my  opinion  you  will  preserve  it  there 
much  more  securely  than  amongst  so  many  fat  and 
bloated  monks: — fathers  they  are  called,  and  fathers 
they  not  unfreqiiently  are,  in  more  senses  than  one. 
Remember  also,  that  in  former  times  young  maid- 
ens were  considered  to  live  nowhere  more  honour- 
ably than  at  home  with  their  parents;  nor  had  they 
any  father,  according  to  the  religious  sense  of  the 
word,  except  the  bishop.  But  tell  rae,  I  beseech 
you,  what  nunnery  is  it  that  you  have  fixed  upon 
as  the  place  of  your  servitude  and  seclusion? 

Ca.  The  Chrysertian. 

Eu.  I  know  it.     It  is  close  to  your  father's  house. 

Ca.  Just  so. 

Eu.  And  well,  too,  do  I  know  the  whole  of  the 
worthy  fraternity  for  which  you  would  give  up  fa- 
ther and  mother  and  the  excellent  family  to  which 
you  are  related.  As  for  the  patriarch  of  this 
venerable  society,  he  has  long  been  foolish,  both 
from  infirmities  of  age  and  nature,  and  from  indul- 
gence in  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  His  knowl- 
edge is  now  confined  to  his  bottle.  He  has  two 
companions,  John  and  Jodocus,  both  worthy  of 
him.  John,  though  not  perhaps  a  bad  man,  has 
nevertheless  nothing  of  the  man  about  him  but  his 
beard — not  one  grain  of  learning,  and  a  very  slen- 
der stock  of  prudence.  As  for  Jodocus,  he  is  so 
stupid,  that,  if  it  were  not  for  the  recommendation 


26i 

of  his  sacred  dress,  he  might  walk  about  in  public, 
in  the  cap  and  bells  of  a  fool. 

Ca.  They  seem  to  me,  however,  to  be  very  good 
men. 

Eu.  My  dear  Catharine,  I  know  them  better  than 
you  can  do.  But  I  suppose  that  these  are  your 
patrons  with  your  father  and  mother; — the  persons 
who  would  make  you  their  proselyte? 

Ca.  Jodocus  is  very  favourable  to  my  wishes. 

Eu.  Oh!  worthy  patroni  But  let  it  be  granted 
that  these  men  are  now  both  learned  and  good,  it 
Avill  not  be  long  before  you  will  find  them  both  ig- 
norant and  wicked;  and  you  will,  moreover,  have  to 
bear  with  every  one  that  meets  you. 

Ca.  The  frequent  entertainments  that  are  given 
at  home  are  very  disagreeable  to  me;  nor  is  every 
thing  that  is  spoken  there  between  those  who  are 
married,  such  as  is  suitable  to  a  maiden's  ear;  be- 
sides, I  cannot  sometimes  refuse  a  kiss. 

Eu.  They,  who  would  avoid  every  thing  that 
can  give  offence,  must  needs  depart  out  of  this  life 
altogether.  Our  ears  must  be  accustomed  to  hear 
every  thing,  but  transmit  to  the  mind  only  what  is 
good.  Your  parents,  I  suppose,  allow  you  a  pri- 
vate chamber? 

Ca.  Certainly. 

Eu.  Thither,  then,  you  may  retire,  if  any  enter- 
tainment should  happen  to  become  disorderly. — 
There,  while  the  rest  are  drinking  and  trifling,  do 
you  hold  holy  converse  with  Christ,  your  spouse; 
praying,  singing,  and  giving  thanks.  Your  father's 


S6j^ 

house  cannot  defile  you;  while  you,  on  the  contra- 
ry, may  impart  to  it  a  character  of  greater  sanctity. 

Ca.  Yet,  it  is  safer  to  be  in  a  convent  of  nuns. 

Eu.  I  say  nothing  against  a  society  of  such  nuns 
as  are  truly  virgins;  but  I  wish  you  not  to  be  de- 
ceived by  your  imagination,  and  take  appearan- 
ces for  realites.  Were  you  to  remain  for  some 
time  in  the  convent  you  wish  to  retire  to,  and  ac- 
quire a  nearer  insight  into  what  is  going  forward 
there,  possibly  you  might  not  think  every  thing 
quite  so  correct  and  charming  as  you  did  at  first. 
Take  my  word  for  it.  Catharine,  all  are  not  virgins 
who  wear  a  veil. 

Ca.  Use  proper  language,  Eubulusi 

Eu.  Nay,  if  there  be  propriety  in  truth,  I  do  so; 
unless,  perhaps,  the  praise  which  we  have  hitherto 
been  in  the  habit  of  considering  as  peculiar  to  the 
Virgin  Mother  be  transferred  to  other  females  also. 

Ca.  Mention  not  such  an  abomination. 

Eu.  In  no  other  way,  however,  can  the  virgins 
you  speak  of  be  altogether  such  as  you  take  them 
to  be. 

Ca.  No?  and  why  not,  I  pray  you? 

Eu.  Because  there  are  more  amongst  them  who 
will  be  found  to  rival  Sappho  in  her  morals,  than 
to  resemble  her  in  her  genius. 

Ca.  I  do  not  exactly  comprehend  the  meaning 
of  your  words. 

Eu.  My  dear  Catharine,  I  do  not  wish  that  you 
should;  and  therefore  I  talk  in  the  way  you  hear  me. 

Ca.  My  wishes  still  point  in  the  same  direction, 


S63 

and  I  cannot  but  conclude  that  the  spirit  by  which 
I  am  actuated  on  this  subject  comes  from  God, 
inasmuch  as  it  has  continued  for  so  many  years,  and 
still  gathers  strength  from  day  to  day. 

Eu.  For  my  part,  I   regard   this  spirit  of  thine 
with  no  small  degree   of  suspicion,  on  account  of 
its   being   opposed   with  so    much   earnestness  by 
your  excellent  parents.     Were  the  object  you  have 
in  view  really  a  pious  one,  God  would   no  doubt 
breathe  into    their  hearts  an   acquiescence  in  your 
wishes.     The  fact    is,  that  the   spirit  you  talk  of 
took  its  rise  from  the  splendid  things  which  affect- 
ed your  imagination  as   a   girl,  from   the  soft  lan- 
guage of   the  nuns,  from  revived  affection  towards 
your  old  companions,  from   the  celebration  of  di- 
vine  worship,   the  specious  pomp   of  ceremonies, 
and  the  vile  exhortations  of  a  set  of  stupid  monks, 
who   court  you   in  order  that  they   may   have  the 
more  to  drink.     They  are  well  aware  that  your  fa- 
ther is  of  a  kind  and    liberal   disposition,   and  that 
they  shall  either  have  him  for  their  guest,  (on  con- 
dition that  he  bring  with  him  wine  enough  for  ten 
potent  drinkers,)  or  that  they  shall  be  able  to  ca- 
rouse, as  they  please  at  his  table.     Wherefore,  my 
advice  to  you  is,  not  to  think  any  farther  of  ventur- 
ing upon  a  new  course  of  life  in  opposition  to  the 
wishes  of  your  parents.     Remember  that  the  au- 
thority of  our  parents  is  that  under  which  it  is 
God's  will  that  we  should  remain. 

Ca.  But  in  a  case  of  this   kind,  it  is  no  want  of 
piety  to  disregard  both  father  and  mother. 


a64j 

Eu.  I  gjraiit  that  it  is  piety  to  do  so  on  some  oc- 
casions, for  Christ's  sake;  though  if  a  Christian 
have  a  father  who  is  a  heathen,  and  whose  whole 
subsistence  depends  upon  him,  it  certainly  is  no 
mark  of  piety  in  the  son  to  desert  him,  and  allow 
him  to  perish  of  hunger.  Supposing  that  you  had 
not  already  professed  yourself  a  Christian  at  your 
baptism,  and  that  your  parents  were  to  forbid  you 
to  be  baptized,  you  would  certainly  act  a  pious  part 
in  preferring  Christ  to  impious  parents:  or,  even 
now,  if  your  parents  were  to  endeavour  to  force  you 
to  the  commission  of  any  loose  or  impious  act,  you 
would  undoubtedly  do  right,  in  such  a  case,  to  dis- 
regard their  authority  But  what  has  this  to  do 
with  a  convent?  Christ  is  with  you  equally  at  home. 
It  is  the  dictate  of  nature  that  children  should  obey 
their  parents — a  dictate  ratified  by  the  approbation 
of  God,  by  the  exhortations  of  St.  Paul,  and  by  the 
sanction  of  human  laws:  and  will  you  then  withdraw 
yourself  from  the  authority  of  the  excellent  parents 
you  possess,  in  order  to  deliver  yourself  up  to  those 
who  can  be  father  and  mother  to  you  only  in  name, 
or  who,  to  speak  more  truly,  will  rule  you  rather 
as  tyrants  than  as  parents?  At  present,  your  situa- 
tion with  your  parents  is  such,  that  they  still  wish 
you  to  be  free;  but  you,  of  your  own  accord,  would 
make  fourself  a  slave.  The  merciful  nature  of  the 
Christian  religion  has,  to  a  great  degree,  abolished 
the  ancient  state  of  servitude,  except  in  a  few  coun- 
tries*, in  which  some  traces  of  it  still  remain.  But 
novy,'  under  the  pretext  of  religion,  a  new  kind  of 


2Q5 

servitude  according  to  the  mode  of  living;  tliat  at 
present  prevails  in  many  convents,  has  been  invent- 
ed. In  these  places  nothin,q;  is  lawful  but  what  is 
commanded:  whatever  wealth  may  fall  to  you  will 
accrue  to  the  community;  and  should  you  attempt 
to  stir  a  step  beyond  your  bounds,  you  will  be  drag- 
ged back  again,  as  if  you  had  murdered  your  parents. 
And,  that  this  slavery  may  be  still  more  conspicuous, 
their  proselytes  are  clothed  in  a  dress  different  from 
that  which  was  given  to  them  by  their  parents, 
while,  in  imitation  of  the  ancient  custom  of  those 
•who  formerly  made  a  traffic  in  slaves,  a  change  also 
is  made  in  the  baptismal  name;  so  that  he  who  was 
baptized  into  the  service  of  Christ  under  the  name 
of  Peter,  is  called  Thomas  on  being  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  St.  Dominic.  If  a  soldier  in  the  army  cast 
away  the  uniform  given  him  by  his  commander,  he 
is  looked  upon  as  having  renounced  the  authority  of 
his  commander;  and  yet  we  applaud  those  who  put 
on  a  dress  not  given  by  Christ,  the  Lord  of  all;  while 
the  punishment  inflicted  upon  ihem,  should  they 
change  it  afterwards,  is  far  greater  than  would  be 
experienced  were  they  to  cast  off,  ever  so  frequent- 
ly, the  dress  of  their  great  Leader  and  Master — I 
mean,  innocence  of  mind. 

Ca.     They  make  a  great  merit,  however,  of  thus 
voluntarily  submitting  to  this  kind  of  servitude. 

Eu.     They  who  do  so,  preach  a  doctrine  worthy 
of  the  Pharisees.    St.  Paul's  doctrine  is  a  very  differ- 
ent one;   for  he  teaches  that  whoever  becomes  a 
Christian  when  in  a  state  of  freedom,  should  not 
V 


.  S66 

-Avillingly  be  made  a  slave:  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  slave  who  becomes  a  Christian,  should,  if  an 
opportunity  of  freedom  present  itself,  avail  him- 
self of  it.  But,  farther,  the  servitude  we  are  speak- 
ing of  is  the  more  galling  from  your  having  to  sub- 
mit to  more  masters  than  one,  and  these,  too,  for 
the  most  part  fools  and  profligates;  while,  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  you  are  kept  in  a  state  of  continual  un- 
certainty from  the  changes  that  occur  amongst 
them  from  time  to  time.  Now,  answer  me  a  ques- 
tion,— Do  the  laws  release  you  from  the  authority 
of  your  parents? 

Ca.     By  no  means. 

Eu.  Are  you  at  liberty  to  buy  or  sell  a  farm 
against  their  will? 

Ca.     Certainly  not. 

Eu.  What  right,  then,  can  you  have  to  give  your- 
self to  I  know  not  whom,  in  express  opposition  to 
the  will  of  your  parents?  Are  you  not  their  most 
valuable  possession— that  which  is  in  a  peculiar 
sense  their  own? 

Ca.  Where  religion  is  concerned,  the  laws  of 
nature  cease. 

Eu.  Religion  has  respect  chiefly  to  baptism;  the 
present  question  relates  merely  to  a  change  of  dress, 
and  to  a  mode  of  life  which  in  itself  is  neither  good 
nor  bad.  Consider,  also,  how  many  advantages  you 
part  with  when  you  lose  your  liberty.  You  are  now 
free  to  read,  pray,  or  sing,  in  your  own  chamber,  as 
much  and  as  long  as  may  be  agreeable  to  you;  or, 
when  you  become  weary  of  the  privacy  of  your 


267 

chamber,  you  have  it  in  your  power  to  hear  sacred 
■songs,  attend  divine  worship,  and  listen  to  discourses 
on  heavenly  themes.  Moreover,  should  you  meet 
with  any  one  remarkable  for  his  piety  and  wisdom, 
or  with  any  matron  or  maiden  of  superior  virtues 
and  endowments,  you  can  enjoy  the  advantage  of 
their  conversation  and  instructions,  for  improve- 
ment in  all  those  graces  that  become  the  female 
character.  You  are  free,  besides,  to  esteem  and 
Jove  the  preacher  who  teaches  in  sincerity  the  pure 
doctrines  of  Christ.  But  if  once  you  retire  into  a 
convent,  all  these  superior  opportunities  of  improve- 
ment in  a  sound  and  rational  piety  are  lost  to  you 
for  ever. 

Ca.     But,  in  the  mean  time,  I  shall  not  be  a  nun. 

Eu.  Is  it  possible  that  you  can  still  be  influenced 
by  the  sound  of  a  mere  name?  Consider  the  sub- 
ject with  attention.  Much  is  said  about  the  merit  of 
obedience;  but  will  there  be  any  want  of  this  merit 
if  you  obey  those  parents  whom  the  ordinance  of 
God  himself  has  made  it  your  duty  to  obey — if  you 
obey  also  your  bishop  and  your  pastor?  Or  will  you 
be  deficient  in  the  merit  of  poverty,  where  every 
thing  belongs  to  your  parents?  In  former  times, 
indeed,  holy  men  thought  it  highly  praiseworthy 
in  females,  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God,  to  be 
liberal  towards  the  poor;  yet  I  do  not  very  well  per- 
ceive, how  they  were  to  exercise  this  virtue  of  liber- 
ality, if  they  had  nothing  themselves  to  give.  Fur- 
ther, the  jewel  of  your  chastity  can  suffer  no  dimi- 
nution in  its  lustre  by  your  remaining  under  the 


^68 

same  roof  with  your  parents.  In  what,  then,  con- 
sists the  superiority  of  the  state  for  which  you  are 
so  eager  to  leave  your  own  home?  truly,  in  nothing 
but  a  veil,  a  linen  dress  worn  outside  instead  of  in- 
side, and  a  few  ceremonies  which  of  themselves 
make  nothing  for  piety,  and  commend  no  one  in  the 
sight  of  Him  with  whom  favour  can  be  obtained 
only  by  purity  of  heart  and  life. 

Ca.  You  preach  strange  doctrine. 

Eu.  Not  the  less  true,  however,  for  being  strange. 
But,  tell  me,  since  you  are  not  released  from  the 
authority  of  your  parents,  and  you  have  not  a  right 
to  sell  either  a  dress  or  a  field,  how  can  you  prove 
that  you  have  a  right  to  put  yourself  under  the  per- 
petual control  of  strangers? 

Ca.  The  authority  of  parents,  they  say,  cannot 
prevent  the  claims  of  religion. 

Eu.  Did  you  not  make  profession  of  your  faith 
•in  your  baptism? 

Ca.     Yes. 

Eu.  And  are  not  they  religious  persons  who  fol- 
low the  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ? 

Ca.     Undoubtedly. 

Eu.  Then  what,  I  pray  you,  is  this  new  religion 
which  makes  void  what  the  law  of  nature  has  sanc- 
tioned,— what  the  ancient  law  has  taught,  what  the 
gospel  has  approved,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles 
established  and  confirmed?  I  tell  you,  that  such  a 
religion  is  the  invention  of  a  parcel  of  monks,  not 
the  decree  of  God. 

Ca.     Do  von  then  think  it  unlawful  for  me  to  be- 


^69 

c6me  the  spouse  of  Christ  without  the  consent  oi 
my  parents? 

Eu.  You  are  already  espoused  to  Christ — we 
have  all  been  espoused  to  him;  and  who,  I  pray  you, 
ever  thinks  of  being  married  twice  to  the  same  per- 
son? The  subject  in  debate  is  merely  a  question  of 
place,  dress,  and  ceremony;  and  certainly  I  cannot 
think  that  the  authority  of  parents  is  to  be  slighted 
and  set  at  nought  for  things  like  these. 

Ca.  But  the  persons  I  speak  of  affirm,  that  there 
cannot  be  an  act  of  greater  piety  than  to  disregard 
one's  parents  on  such  an  occasion, 

Eu.  Demand,  then,  of  those  doctors,  to  produce 
you  a  single  passage  out  of  the  holy  scriptures  in 
in  which  any  such  doctrine  is  taught.  If  they  can- 
not do  this,  then  require  of  them  to  quaff  of  a  cup 
of  good  Burgundy — you  will  find  them  at  no  loss  on 
such  a  subject.  It  is  the  part  of  true  piety  to  fly 
to  Christ  for  succour  from  wicked  parents;  but  what 
piety  can  there  be  in  flying  from  virtuous  parents 
to  a  convent, — when  to  do  this  (as  experience  often 
shows)  is  but  to  fly  from  the  good  to  the  bad?  In- 
deed, in  former  times,  when  a  person  was  converted 
to  the  Christian  faith,  his  parents,  though  idolaters, 
were  still  considered  to  have  a  claim  on  his  obedi- 
ence, as  long  as  that  obedience  involved  no  com- 
promise of  his  conscience  and  his  faith. 

Ca.  Do  you  then  condemn  the  life  of  a  nun 
altogether? 

Eu.  By  no  means:  but  as  I  should  not  willingly 
advise  any  who  have  entered  upon  such  a  mode  of 

V  2 


270 

life  to  seek  a  release  from  it,  so  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  earnestly  exhorting  every  maiden,  especially  such 
as  are  of  a  noble  and  generous  nature,  to  take  care 
how  they  heedlessly  place  themselves  in  a  state  from 
which  it  will  be  impossible  for  them  afterwards  to 
j  retreat:  more  particularly  as,  in  the  places  I  allude 
to,  a  virgin's  honour  is  not  unfrequently  exposed  to 
the  greatest  danger;  and  as  nothing,  moreover,  is 
done  there,  but  what  can  be  as  well  accomplished  at 
home. 

Ca.  I  cannot  but  confess  that  the  arguments  with 
which  you  have  pressed  your  point  are  both  nume- 
rous and  weighty;  yet  my  desire  continues  unchang- 
ed and  unchangeable. 

Eu.  Well,  if  I  cannot  succeed  in  persuading  you 
to  act  as  I  wish,  bear  this  at  least  in  mind,  that 
Eubulus  gave  you  good  counsel.  In  the  mean  while 
I  will  pray,  from  the  love  I  bear  you,  that  this  pas- 
sion of  yours  may  be  attended  with  better  fortune 
than  my  advice. 


I — Page   137. 

TYRANNICAL    CONDUCT    OF  THE    CHURCH    OF    ROME  TO- 
WARDS PEBSONS  OF  BOTH  SEXES  BOUND  BY  RELIGIOUS 

vows. 

The  history  of  religious  oppression  under  the- 
Church  of  Rome  is  far  from  being  well  known. 
That,  under  her  spiritual  government,  Christianity 
has  at  all  times  contributed  towards  the  happiness 


S71 

of  mankind,  I  am  ready  to  acknowledge;  because 
no  human  power  can  completely  quench  the  heal- 
ing spirit  of  the  Gospel.  But  it  would  be  difficult, 
indeed,  to  ascertain  whether  the  at  once  gloomy  and 
pompous  superstition  which,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  popes,  has  been  so  intimately  blended  with 
Christianity,  has  not  produced  more  bitterness  of 
suffering  in  the  human  breast,  than  even  the  hope 
of  immortality  can  allay.  Woe  to  the  ardent  and 
sincere,  amongst  the  spiritual  subjects  of  Romel 
for  she  will  sacrifice  them,  body  and  soul,  to  a  mere 
display  of  her  spiritual  dominion. 

Nothing,  however,  is  more  difficult  than  to  col- 
lect the  evidence  of  individual  suffering,  produced 
by  Roman  Catholic  tyranny.  Enough  transpires 
in  the  monasteries  of  both  sexes,  to  form  an  esti- 
mate of  the  wretchedness  that  dwells  in  them.  But 
hopelessness  and  shame  smother  the  sighs  of  their 
female  inhabitants.  Yet  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture, a  moderate  degree  of  candour,  and  the  con- 
sideration of  the  laws  which  have  enforced,  and 
still  ensure,  an  internal  compliance  with  the  en- 
gagements of  the  religious  profession;  are  sufficient 
to  give  an  awful,  though  momentary  view,  of  the 
mass  of  misery  which  perpetual  vows  have  pro- 
duced. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  will  of  a  parent  could 
bind  a  child  for  ever  to  the  monastic  life.  That 
liberal  Council  of  Toledo,  whose  laws  about  the 
Jews  have  been  inserted  in  a  preceding  note,  de- 
clares that  "a  monk  is  made  either  by  paternal  de- 


volion,  or  personal  profession.  Whatever  is  bound 
in  this  manner,  will  hold  fast.  We  therefore,  shut 
up,  in  regard  to  these,  all  access  to  the  world,  and 
forbid  all  return  to  a  secular  life."  Monachum  aut 
paterna  devolio,  aut  propria  professio  facit.  Quic- 
quid  horum  fuerit  alligatum  tenebit.  Proinde  his 
ad  mundum  revertendi  intercludimus  aditvim,  et 
omnem  ad  saeculum  interdicimus  regressum.  (Con- 
cil.  Tolet.  IV.  Can.  48.) 

By  the  more  modern  discipline  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  this  practice  has  been  abolished;  but,  as  it 
happens  in  all  palliations  of  essential  evils,  the 
abolition  of  the  barbarous  power  granted  to  parents, 
by  removing  that  which  shocked  at  first  sight,  only 
makes  the  remaining  grievance  more  hopeless.-— 
There  is,  indeed,  little  difference  in  allowing  boys 
and  girls  of  sixteen  to  bind  themselves  with  perpetu- 
al vows,  and  devoting  them  irrevocably  to  the  clois- 
ter from  the  cradle.  The  Church  of  Rome,  in  her 
present  regulations,  only  adds  the  artfulness  of  se- 
duction to  the  unfeelingness  of  cruelty.  I  will  here 
give  her  laws  upon  this  subject,  in  the  original  lan- 
guage of  the  Council  of  Trent;  and  subjoin  the 
brief  statement  of  two  cases,  as  instances  of  their 
practical  operation. 

Can.  9.  De  Matrimonio. — "Si  quis  dixerit,  cleri- 
cos  in  sacris  ordinibus  constitutos,  vel  regulares  cas- 
titatem  solemniter  professos,*  posse  matrimonium 

*  The  reader  will  here  observe  the  difference  between 
the  secular  and  the  regular  clergy.  The  former  do  not 
bind  themselves  with  vows:  their  celibacy  is  enforced  only  by 
the  law  which  renders  their  marriages  null  and  void. 


27S 

contrahere  contractumque  validum  esse,  non  ob- 
stante lege  ecclesiastica,  vel  voto;  posseqiie  omnes 
contrahere  matrimonium,  qui  non  sentiunt  se  casti- 
tatis,  etiamsieam  voverint,  habere  domum,  anathe- 
ma sit,  cum  Deus  id  recte  petentibus  non  deneget, 
nee  patiatur  nos  supra  id  quos  possumus,  tentari." 

Sessio  XXV.  cap.  5. — "Bonifacii  octavi  constitu- 
tionem,  quae  incipit:  Periculoso,  renovans  sancta 
synodus,  universis  episcopis,  sub  obtestatione  divi- 
ni  judicii,  et  interminatione  maledictionis  aeternae, 
praecipit,  ut  in  omnibus  monasteriis  sibi  subjectis, 
ordinaria,  in  aliis  vero,  sedis  apostolica  auctoritate, 
clausuram  sanctimonialium,  ubi  violata  luerit,  dili- 
genter  restitui,  et  ubi  inviolata  est,  conservari 
maxime  procurent:  inobedientes  atque  contradic- 
tores  per  censuras  ecclesiasticas,  aliasque  poenas, 
quacumque  appellatione  postposita,  compescentes, 
invocato  ad  hoc,  si  opus  fuerit,  auxilio  brachii 
ssecularis.  Quod  auxilium  ut  praebeatur,  omnes 
Christianos  principes  hortatur  sancta  synodus,  et 
sub  poena  excommunicationis,  ipso  facto  incurren- 
da,  omnibus  magistralibus  saeculaiibus  injungit. — 
Nemini  autem  sanctimonialium  liceat  post  profes- 
sionem  exire  a  monasterio  etiam  ad  breve  tempus, 
quocumque  prxtentur." 

lb.  cap.  19. — "Quicumque  regularis  praetendat 
se  per  vim  et  metum  ingressum  esse  religionem, 
aut  etiam  dicat  ^nte  ^tatem  debitam  professum 
fuisse,  aut  quid  simile,  velitque  habitum  dimittere, 
quacumque  de  causa,  aut  etiam  cum  habitu  disce- 
dere  sine  liceutia  superiorum,  non  audiatur,  nisi 


intra  quinquennium  tantum,  a  die  professionis,  et 
tunc,  non  aliter  nisi  causas  quas  praetenclerit  de- 
duxerit  coram  superiore  suo  et  ordinario.  Quod 
si  antea  habitum  sponte  dimiserit,  nullatenus  ad 
allegandum  quamcumque  causatn  admittatur;  sed 
ad  monasterium  redire  cogatur,  et  tamquam  apos- 
tata  puniaturj  interim  nullo  privilegio  suae  religio- 
nis  juvetur." 

How  strictly  these  laws  are  preserved  in  vigour 
by  the  proud  tyranny  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
the  blind  subserviency  of  every  government  and 
people  who  acknowledge  her,  I  will  instance  in  two 
eases.  The  first  I  have  on  the  authority  of  Don 
Andres  Bello,  Secretary  to  the  Colombian  Lega- 
tion in  this  country:  a  gentleman  whose  great 
worth,  talents  and  learning,  I  have  had  many  an 
opportunity  to  know  and  admire,  during  an  ac- 
quaintance of  nearly  fifteen  years.  The  second  is 
one  of  the  many  cases  which  I  can  attest  from  my 
personal  knowledge. 

The  desertion  of  monks,  according  to  the  infor- 
mation which  my  friend  Mr.  Bello  has  given  me  on 
this  point,  has  been  at  all  times  frequent  in  the 
territories  of  Spanish  America.  Their  general 
conduct,  I  have  been  assured  by  everyone  acquaint- 
ed with  that  country,  is  openly  and  outrageously 
profligate.  One  of  the  unfortunate  slaves  of  Rome, 
"a  man  who  (to  use  my  friend'^?  own  expression) 
having  been  his  own  instructor,  lived  miserable  be- 
cause his  mind  was  far  above  aH  that  surrounded 
him,"  took  the  determination  of  absconding  from 


%7b 

his  cowled  masters,  and  sought  for  liberty  in  exile. 
His  real  name  was  Father  Christoval  de  Quesada 
a  native  of  Cumana,  and  Friar  of  the  Order  of  Mer- 
cy. Under  the  assumed  designation  of  Don  Carlos 
de  Sucre,  he  travelled  in  different  countries  of  Eu- 
rope, and  was  everywhere  admired  for  his  accom- 
plishments and  agreeable  manners.  The  love  of 
his  country  betrayed  him,  at  length,  into  the  rash 
step  of  venturing  back, — yet  at  a  sufficient  distance 
from  his  native  town  to  imagine  himself  safe  from 
detection.  His  abilities  recommended  him  to  the 
archbishop  of  Caracas,  who  made  him  his  secreta- 
ry. Some  years  had  elapsed,  when  a  person,  hav- 
ing desired  to  speak  privately  to  the  supposed  Su- 
cre, showed  him  that  he  was  in  possession  of  his 
secret;  but  engaged  to  keep  it — probably  in  con- 
sideration of  some  pecuniary  reward.  The  unfor- 
tunate runaway  knew  too  well  the  nature  of  his  cir- 
cumstances, and  danger;  and  only  thought  of  sur- 
rendering on  the  most  favourable  conditions.  He 
disclosed  his  case  to  the  archbishop,  who  engaged 
the  head  of  the  Order  of  Mercy  to  receive  the  un- 
fortunate Father  Christoval,  without  inflicting  any 
punishment  for  his  flight.  "It  was  in  these  circum- 
stances (says  my  friend,  in  an  interesting  letter  to 
me)  that  he  taught  me  Latin,  a  language  which  he 
possessed  in  perfection.  He  was  a  man  of  uncom- 
mon good  nature;  plain  and  unaffected  in  his  man- 
ners, and  rather  slovenly  in  his  dress.  To  classi- 
cal knowledge  he  added  that  of  mathematics,  and  a 
co^nsidcrable  taste  for  Spanish   poetry.      His  ser- 


^70 

mons  were  excelletit  whenever  he  took  the  pains  to 
write  them,  which  was  seldom  the  case.  He  vokm- 
tat'ily  took  charge  of  the  library  of  the  convent; 
which  he  enriched  with  many  excellent  works,  un- 
known till  then  in  my  town.  He  also  devoted  part 
of  his  time  to  the  garden  of  the  convent,  which  had 
hitherto  been  allowed  to  overrun  with'weeds.  Part 
of  the  ground  he  allotted  to  a  numerous  breed  of 
ducks,  fowls,  and  other  domestic  animals;  but  from 
this  he  was  obliged  to  desist,  for  the  friars  whose 
siesta  was  disturbed  by  the  cackling,  contrived  to 
poison  their  brother's  favourites." — "Such  (he  con- 
cludes) is  the  history  of  Father  Quesada,  who  gave 
to  his  return  to  the  convent  the  appearance  of  a 
voluntary  act,  and  donned  his  frock  with  the  best 
good  humour  in  the  world;  well  aware  that  in  his 
circumstances  any  thing  else  would  have  been  most 
imprudent.  I  have  heard  in  South  America  a 
thousand  other  cases  of  runaway  friars,  who  have 
been  forced  back  to  their  convents;  but  I  am  not 
in  possession  of  the  individual  circumstances.** 

A  strong  mind,  and  a  natural  good  temper,  di- 
vested the  preceding  instance  of  the  horrors  which 
generally  attend  the  capture  of  the  spiritual  slaves 
who  seek  liberty  by  flight.  That  which  I  am  about 
to  relate  is  of  a  much  more  melancholy  cast.  I 
have  laid  it  already  before  the  public,  in  Doblado\ 
Letters  from  Spain;  but  though  that  work  contains 
no  other  fiction  but  a  few  changes  of  names,  I 
deem  it  necessary  to  record,  with  all  the  solemnity 
of  history,  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  nun  whom  I 
there  introduced  to  my  readers. 


S77 

The  eldest  daughter  of  a  family,  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  mine,  was  brought  up  in  the  convent 
of  Saint  Agness  at  Seville,  under  the  care  of  her  mo- 
ther's sister,  the  abbess  of  that  female  community. 
The  circumstances  of  the  whole  transaction  were 
so  public  at  Seville,  and  the  subsequent  judicial 
proceedings  have  given  them  such  notoriety,  that 
I  do  not  feel  bound  to  conceal  names.  Maria  Fran* 
cisca  Barreiro^  the  unfortunate  subject  of  this  ac- 
count, grew  up,  a  lively  and  interesting  girl,  in  the 
convent;  while  a  younger  sister  enjoyed  the  advan- 
tages of  an  education  at  home.  The  mother  form- 
ed an  early  design  of  devoting  her  eldest  daughter 
to  religion,  in  order  to  give  to  her  less  attractive 
favourite  a  better  chance  of  getting  a  husband. — 
The  distant  and  harsh  manner  with  which  she 
constantly  treated  Maria  Francisca,  attached  the 
unhappy  girl  to  her  aunt  by  the  ties  of  the  most  ar- 
dent affection.  The  time,  however,  arrived  when 
it  was  necessary  that  she  should  either  leave  her, 
and  endure  the  consequences  of  her  mother's  aver- 
sion at  home,  or  take  the  vows,  and  thus  close  the 
gales  of  the  convent  upon  herself  for  ever.  She 
preferred  the  latter  course;  and  came  out  to  pay 
the  last  visit  to  her  friends.  I  met  her,  almost 
daily,  at  the  house  of  one  of  her  relations;  where 
her  words  and  manner  soon  convinced  me  that  she 
was  a  victim  of  her  mother's  designing  and  unfeel- 
ing disposition.  The  father  was  an  excellent  man, 
though  timid  and  undecided.  He  feared  his  wife, 
and  was  in  awe  of  the  monks;  who,  as  usual,  were 
W 


^78 

extremely  anxious  to  increase  the  number  of  their 
female  prisoners.     Though  I  was  aware  of  the  dan- 
ger which  a  man  incurs  in  Spain,  who  tries  to  dis- 
suade a  young  woman  from  being  a  nun,  humanity 
impelled  me  to  speak  seriously  to  the  father,  entreat- 
ing him  not  to  expose  a  beloved  child  to  spend  her 
life  in  hopeless  regret  for  lost  liberty.      He  was 
greatly  moved  by  my  reasons;  but  the  impression  I 
made  was  soon  obliterated.       The   day  for  Maria 
Franciscans  taking  the  veil  was  at  length  fixed;  and 
though  I  had  a  most  pressing  invitation  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  ceremony,  I  determined  not  to  see  the 
wretched  victim   at  the  altar.      On  the  preceding 
day,  I  was  called  from  my  stall  at  the  Royal  Chapel, 
to  the  confessional.       A  Jady,  quite  covered  by  her 
black  veil,  was  kneeling  at  the  grate  through  which 
females  speak  to  the  confessor.     As  soon  as  I  took 
my  seat,  the  well-known  voice  of  Maria  Francisca 
made  me  start  with  surprise.     Bathed  in  tears,  and 
scarcely  able  to  speak  without  betraying  her  state 
to  the  people  who  knelt  near  the  confessional  box, 
by  the  sobs  which  interrupted  her  words;   she  told 
me  she  wished  only  to  unburden  her  heart  to   me, 
before  she  shut  up  herself  for  life.     Assistance,  she 
assured  me,  she  would  not  receive;  for  rather  than 
live  with  her  mother,   and   endure   the  obloquy  to 
which  her  swerving  from   her  announctd  determi- 
nation would  expose  her,  she  "would  risk  the  sal- 
vation of  her  soul."      All   my  remonstrances  were 
in  vain.      I  offered  to  obtain  the   protection  of  the 
archbishop,  and  thereby  to  extricate  her  from  the 


S79 

difficulties  in  which  she  was  involved.  She  declin- 
ed my  offer,  and  appeared  as  resolute  as  she  was 
wretched.  The  next  morning  she  took  the  veil; 
and  professed  at  the  end  of  the  following  year. — 
Her  good  aunt  died  soon  after;  and  the  nung,  who 
had  allured  her  into  the  convent  by  their  caresses, 
when  they  perceived  that  she  was  not  able  to  dis- 
guise her  misery,  and  feared  that  the  existence  of 
a  reluctant  nun  might  by  her  means  transpire,  be- 
came her  daily  tormentors. 

After  an  absence  of  three  years  from  Seville,  I 
found  that  jNIaria  Francisca  had  openly  declared 
her  aversion  to  a  state,  from  which  nothing  but 
death  could  save  her.  She  often  changed  her  con- 
fessors, expecting  comfaiL  from  their  advice.  At 
last  she  found  a  friend  in  one  of  the  companions  of 
my  youth;  a  man  whose  benevolence  surpasses  even 
the  bright  genius  with  which  nature  has  gifted 
him:  though  neither  has  been  able  to  exempt  him 
from  the  evils  to  which  Spaniards  seem  to  be  fated 
in  proportion  to  their  worth.  He  became  her  con- 
fessor, and  in  that  capacity  spoke  to  her  daily.— 
But  what  could  he  do  against  the  inflexible  tyran- 
ny in  whose  grasp  she  languished! 

About  this  time  the  approach  of  Napoleon's  ar- 
my threw  the  town  into  a  general  consternation, 
and  the  convents  were  opened  to  such  of  the  nuns 
as  wished  to  fly.  Maria  Francisca,  whose  parents 
were  absent,  put  herself  under  the  protection  of  a 
young  prebendary  of  the  Cathedral,  and  by  his 
means  reached  Cadiz,  where  I  saw  her,  on  my  way 


2S0 

to  England.  I  shall  never  forget  the  anguish  with 
"vvhich,  after  a  long  conversation,  wherein  she  dis- 
closed to  me  the  whole  extent  of  her  wretchedness, 
she  exclaimed,  There  is  no  hofiefor  me!  and  fell  in- 
to convulsions. 

The  liberty  of  Spain  from  the  French  invaders 
was  the  signal  for  the  fresh  confinement  of  this 
helpless  young  woman  to  her  former  prison.  Here 
she  attempted  to  put  an  end  to  her  sufferings  by 
throwing  herself  into  a  deep  well;  but  was  taken 
out  alive.  Her  mother  was  now  dead,  and  her 
friends  instituted  a  suit  oi  nullity  of  firofession^  be- 
fore the  ecclesiastical  court.  But  the  laws  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  were  positive;  and  she  was  cast  in 
the  trial.  Her  despair,  however,  exhausted  the  lit- 
tle strength  which  her  protracted  sufferings  had 
left  her,  and  the  unhappy  Maria  Francisca  died 
soon  after,  having  scarcely  reached  her  twenty-fifth 
year. 


CORRUPTION  OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CLERGY  AT   THE 
PERIOD  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  TRENT. 

The  corrupt  morals  which  prevailed  among  the 
Roman  Catholic  bishops  and  higher  clergy,  are  at- 
tested by  the  legates  who  presided  at  the  first  ses- 
sions of  the  Council  of  Trent. 

"Hoc  enim  summatim  dicimus  de  omni  genere 
armorum  si,  qui  ilia  contra  nos  tractarunt,  a  suis 
ecclesiis   pastores  fugarunt,  ordines   confuderunt, 


rfJlM- 


S81 

laicos  in  episcoporum  locum  suffecerunt,  ecclesiae 
bona  diripuerunt,  cursum  verbi  Dei  impediverunt: 
Jiic,  inqiiam,  dicimiis,  nihil  horum  esse,  quod  in 
libro  abusuum  pastorum,  inaxima  illorum  fiars^  qui 
hoc  nomen  sibi  vendicant,  per  se  factum  esse,  si 
legere  libuerint,  non  scriptum  apertis  verbis  inve- 
liiant.  JVostram  enim  ambitionein^  nostram  avari- 
tiani^  nostras  cufiiditates^  his  omnibus  malis  popuhim. 
Dei  prius  affecisse  statim  inveniet  atque  harum 
vi  ab  ecclesiis  pastores  fugari,  easque  pabulo  verbi 
privari,  bona  ecclesiarum,  quae  sunt  bona  paupe- 
rum  ab  illis  tolli,  indignis  sacerdotia  conferri,  et 
illis  qui  nihil  a  laicis  prseterquam  in  vestis  genere, 
ac  ne  in  hoc  quidem  differunt,  dari.  Quid  enim 
horum  est,  quod  negare  fiossimus  fier  has  annos  a  no- 
bis factum  esse.'* — Concione  ad  Concilium,  pp.  736» 
737.  Collect  Labbei  et  Gossartii. 


K Page    160. 

REAL  INFLUENCE  OF  ROME  AND  THE  MONKS  UPON 
LEARNING. 

Opinion  is  no  less  subject  than  taste  to  the  peri- 
odical turns  and  changes  of  fashion.  The  love  of 
the  romantic  has  lately  raised  every  thing  belong- 
ing to  the  middle  ages  in  the  estimation  of  the 
reading  public,  and  monks  and  monasteries  share 
the  favour  into  which  the  period  of  their  full  pros- 
perity has  grown.  We  constantly  hear  of  the  ser- 
vices which  the  monks  and  their  church  have  ren- 
W  2 


282 

dcred  to  religion  and  learning;  and  men  seem  wil- 
ling either  to  disbelieve  or  forget  the  deep  wounds 
which  their  gross  ignorance,  and  still  grosser  im- 
morality, gave  to  both. 

These  alternate  turns  of  the  public  attention  to 
the  favourable  and  unfavourable  side  of  historical 
subjects  deprive  us  of  the  benefits  of  experience,  as 
we  might  derive  them  from  the  records  of  former 
times.  To  judge  of  the  utility  of  old  institutions, 
we  should  be  careful  not  to  mistake  the  accidental 
effects  which  they  may  have  produced,  for  the  pre- 
dominant and  decided  tendency  of  their  moral  opera- 
tion. There  is  no  human  establishment  unmixed 
with  evil:  of  this  we  are  well  aware;  but  few  men 
are  fully  impressed  with  the  fact,  that  no  pure  and 
unmixed  evil  can  long  exist,  except  by  open  vio- 
lence. When,  therefore,  we  see  any  law,  custom,  or 
establishment  supported  and  cherished  for  a  length 
©f  time,  we  may  be  sure  that  its  existence  is  con- 
nected with  some  real,  though  partial,  advantages. 
The  philosopher,  in  such  cases,  should  not  confine 
his  observation  to  the  partial  operation  on  either 
side,  good  or  evil;  but  examine  in  the  first  place,, 
whether  the  original  rise  of  the  institution  took 
place  at  the  expense  of  social  prosperity;  and  next, 
whether,  upon  the  whole,  it  was  calculated  eventual- 
ly to  improve  or  degrade  society. 

The  epigram  made  upon  the  usurer  who,  having 
impoverished  a  district,  founded  an  extensive  alms- 
house to  keep,  the  poor  he  had  made^  is,  I  believe,  per- 
fectly applicable  to  the  monks  and  their  pecaliar 


283 

church,  in  regard  to  the  mental  interests  of  maD- 
kind.  They  first  barbarized  the  polished  subjects 
of  imperial  Rome,  and  then  fed  them  with  the  in- 
tellectual garbage  of  their  schools. 

A  number  of  circumstances  made  the  Christians 
of  the  primitive  ages  extremely   averse  to  profane 
literature.     The  first  cause  of  this  was  their  general 
want  of  education;  for  it  pleased  God  to  change  the 
moral  face  of  the  world  by  the  instrumentality  of  the 
poor  and  ignorant,  that  the   supernatural   work  of 
his  grace  in  the  conversion   of  mankind   might  be 
evident.     "Not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noble  are  called;  but  God 
hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found  the  wise,  that   no  flesh  should  glory  in  his 
presence."*     The  abuse  of  the  name  of  science  was, 
in  the  second  place,  a  source  of  strong  dislike  to 
knowledge   among  the  early   Christians.     Abomi- 
nable practices   of  sortilege   and    imposture  were 
common  among  those  men,  who  under  the  name  of 
mathematicians,  Chaldeans,  and  astrologers,  were 
known  all  over  the  empire  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  sera.      The  prevalence   of  these   abuses 
may   be  conceived   by    the   multitude   of  books  on 
magic  which  were  burnt  at  Ephesus,  in  consequence 
of  the  preaching  of  Paul.f 

♦  1  Cor.  i.  27,  29. 

f  "Many  of  them  also  which  used  curious  arts  brought  their 
books  together,  and  burned  them  before  all  men;  and  they 
counted  the  price  of  them,  and  found  it  fifty  thousand  pieces 
t)f  sUver,"    Acts  xix.  19. 


284 

But  nothing  appears  to  have  so  much  prepared 
the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages,  as  the  prevalence 
of  monkery  in  the  Christian  church.     The  extraor- 
dinary reverence  paid  to  the  grossly  ignorant  mul- 
titudes who  inhabited  the  Egyptian  deserts*  must 
naturally  have  tended  to  the  discredit  of  study  and 
acquirements.     When  the  monastic  institution  was 
introduced  into  the  West,  and  became  widely  spread 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Popes,  a  spirit  of  oppo- 
sition to  every  thing  that  can  refine   and   enlighten 
the  mind  became  visible.     As  both  literature  and 
the  arts  had  flourished  among  the  heathen,  zeal  and 
piety  conspired  to  render  them  odious  to  the  gene- 
rality of  Christians.     If,  as  there  is  reason  to  sus- 
pect it,  the  Christians  joined  the  barbarians  in   the 
destruction  of  the  works  of  art,  the  charge  falls  es- 
pecially upon  the  monks,  who  appear  to  have  court- 
ed and  gained  the  favour  of  the  invaders.f 

*  There  were  76,000  monks  in  Egypt  at  the  end  of  the  4th 
century. 

f  Dr.  Clarke,  in  his  work  on  Greek  Marbles,  seems  to  un- 
derstand two  passages  from  Eunapius  in  this  sense.  I  con- 
fess that,  considering  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  the  fact 
is  extremely  probable  to  me;  but  the  words  of  Eunapius  may 
be  understood,  not  of  direct,  but  indirect  co-operation  with 
the  irruption  of  the  barbarians  into  Greece.  Eunapius  says, 
"that  the  impiety  of  those  who  w^ore  black  garments  (the 
monks)  had  opened  the  passage  of  the  Thermopylae  to  Alaric 
and  his  barbarians."  This  may  be  understood  in  the  same 
sense  as  it  is  said  thai  the  weakness  of  the  Roman  govern- 
ment invited  the  invasion  of  the  northean  tribes.  The  Latin 
translation  is  too  definite  for  the  original,  and  does  not  render 


285 

But  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  neglect 
of  ancient  literature,  and  the  substitution  of  scholas- 
tic learning,  was  chiefly  the  work  of  him  who,  as 
it  were  in  mockery  of  titles  bestowed  by  men,  is 
called  the  Great  among  the  Popes  who  bore  the 
name  of  Gregory.  That  his  zeal  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  Christianity  was  extraordinary  and  sincere, 
it  would  be  injustice  to  doubt;  but  it  is  equally  in- 
dubitable, that,  to  a  mind  grossly  superstitious  and 
ignorant,  he  joined  a  shocking  indifference  to  moral 
character  in  those  who  felt  disposed  to  favour  the 
Roman  see,  and  her  then  maturing  plans  of  supre- 
macy. His  flattery  of  the  monster  Phocas  is  a  dis- 
grace 'both  to  Gregory  and  to  his  see,  and  shows 
the  character  of  papal  ambition  in  its  true  colours.* 

Gregory  enjoyed  a  most  extraordinary  moral  in- 
fluence in  his  time,  which  he  wholly  directed  to  the 
object  of  effacing  the  few  remaining  traces  of  an- 
cient literature,  and  introducing  monkish  learning 
in  its  worst  shape.  "A  report  has  reached  our 
ears,"  he  writes  to  a  professor  of  grammar,  "which 
I  cannot  mention  without  shame,  that  your  fraterni- 
ty expounds  grammar  to  some  persons:  this  is  so 
painful  to  us,  and  it  so  vehemently  raises  our  scorn, 
that  it  has  changed  all  I  have  previously  said  into 
wailing  and  sorrow — the  same  mouth,  indeed,  can- 
not hold  the  praises    of  Jupiter  and  of  Christ." 

it  strictly.     Instead  of  the  abstract  word  a(TJ/3«ta,  it  has  impia 
^ens.     See  Eunapiua  De  fit,  Philos.  in  Maximo. 

*  See  the  article  under  Greg-ory's  name  in  Bayle's  Diction- 
ary.   See  also  Gibbon. 


^86 

Gregory  made  a  public  boast  of  his  ignorance,  and 
inveighed  with  such  vehemence  against  all  polite 
literature,  that  the  report  of  his  having  burnt  the 
Palatine  library,  collected  at  Rome  by  the  emperors, 
though  doubted  by  modern  critics,  receives  a  strong 
confirmation  from  his  character.  ''I  scorn,"  he 
says,  "that  art  of  speaking  which  is  conveyed  by 
external  teaching.  The  very  tenor  of  this  epistle 
shows  that  I  do  not  avoid  the  clashing  of  metacism, 
nor  the  obscurity  of  barbarism:  I  despise  all  trouble 
about  prepositions  and  cases,  because  1  hold  it  most 
unworthy  to  put  the  heavenly  oracles  under  the 
restraint  of  a  grammarian."* 

With  such  a  pattern  of  elegance  and  learning  be- 
fore them,  the  Christian  world  had  no  fair  chance 
at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  to  escape 
the  intellectual  darkness  which  was  settling  on 
Europe.  Gregory's  books  on  morals  were  general- 
ly substituted  in  the  room  of  Plato,  Aristotle,  and 
Cicero.  Pope  Theodore  1st.  gave  out  that  he  had 
recovered  the  lost  copy  of  that  work  by  a  revela- 
tion of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  thus  enhanced 
its  value  to  those  who,  from  distant  countries,  sent 
for  it  to  Rome,  to  make  it  the  source  and  standard 
of  their  knowledge.!     Abstracts  and  digests  of  it 

*  Non  metacismi  colllsionem  effugio,  non  barbarismi  con- 
fusionem  devito:  situs,  motuque  pr3epositionum  casusque  ser- 
vare  contemno,  quia  indigrium  vehementerexistimo,  ut  verba 
coelestis  craciili  restrlngamsub  regulis  Donati. 

f  Mariana  claims  the  honour  of  the  revelation  for  Tajon, 
bishop  of  Sarag-ossa.     Hifit.  fk  Espcma,  L.  vi.  c.  viii. 


287 

were  industriously  compiled  for  the  use  of  students, 
and  Gregory  became  the  founder,  master,  and  lead- 
er of  the  barbarous  schools  of  the  middle   ages. 

The  limits  of  a  note  oblige  me  to  refer  my  read- 
ers to  the  interesting  history  of  the  rise  of  school 
philosophy,  given  by  Brucker,  Period.  II.  Pars  II. 
cap.  ii.  de  Philos.  Christ.  Occident,  tom.  iii. 

On  the  moral  character  of  the  monks,  Fleury,  a 
Roman  Catholic,  gives  considerable  information  in 
his  eighth  discourse,  prefixed  to  Vol.  XX.  of  hi? 
Histoire  Ecclesiastique. 


L. — Page   175. 

PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  JUBILEE  FOR  THE  PRESENT 
YEAR  OF  1825. 

The  Bull  by  which  the  present  Pope  has  proclaim- 
ed the  jubilee  is  so  curious  a  document,  that  pos- 
terity will  hardly  believe  it  was  really  published  in 
the  last  year  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  I  wish  to  increase  its  circulation  as  much 
as  it  may  be  in  my  power;  for  I  am  persuaded  no 
arguments  are  so  powerful  against  Rome  as  the  au- 
thentic documents  in  which  she  breathes  out  her 
genuine  spirit.  I  beg  the  attention  of  the  reader 
to  the  catalogue  of  curious  relics,  by  which  the 
Pope  tries  to  draw  pilgrims  to  his  capital;  and  to 
that  part  of  the  Bull  where  he  addresses  all  Protes- 


^88 

tants,  invitini^  them  "to  have  one  consentient  mind 
with  this  (the  Roman)  Church,  the  mother  and 
mistress  of  all  Wthersy  out  of  which  there  is  no  salva^ 
Hon.'* 

The  translation  which  I  use  is  taken  from  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Laity's  Directory  for  1825. 

LEO  BISHOP, 

SERVANT  OF  THE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD, 

To  all  the  faithful  of  Christ  who  shall  see  these  fir  esents^ 
health  and  afiostolical  benediction. 

In  the  merciful  dispensations  of  the  Lord,  it  is  at 
length  granted  to  our  humility,  to  announce  to  you 
with  joy,  that  the  period  is  at  hand,  when  what  we 
regretted  was  omitted  at  the  commencement  of 
the  present  century,  in  consequence  of  the  direful 
calamities  of  the  times,  is  to  be  happily  observed  ac- 
cording to  the  established  custom  of  our  forefathers; 
for  that  most  propitious  year,  entitled  to  the  utmost 
religious  veneration,  is  approaching,  when  christians 
from  every  region  of  the  earth  will  resort  to  this  our 
holy  city  and  the  chair  of  blessed  Peter,  and  when 
the  most  abundant  treasures  of  reconciliation  and 
grace  will  be  offered  as  means  of  salvation  to  all  the 
faithful  disposed  to  perform  the  exercises  of  piety 
which  arc  prescribed.  During  this  year,  which  we 
truly  call  the  acceptable  time  and  the  time  of  sal- 
vation, we  congratulate  you  that  a  favourable,  oc- 
casion is  presented,  when,  after  the  miserable  accu- 


S89 

mulation  of  disasters  under  which  we  have  groan- 
ed, we  may  strive  to  renew  all  things  in  Christ,  by 
the  salutary  atonement  of  all  christian  people.  We 
have  therefore  resolved,  in  virtue  of  the  authority 
given  to  us  by  Heaven,  fully  to  unlock  that  sacred 
treasure,  composed  of  the  merits,  sufferings,  and 
virtues  of  Christ  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Virgin  Mo- 
ther,  and  of  all  the  saints,  which  the  Author  of  hu- 
man salvation  has  intrusted  lo  our  dispensation. 

In  this  it  becomes  us  to  magnify  the  abundant 
riches  of  the  divine  clemency,  by  which  Christ,  pre- 
venting us  with  the  blessings  of  sweetness,  so  willed 
the  infinite  power  of  his  merits  to  be  diffused 
through  the  parts  of  his  mystical  body,  that  they 
by  reciprocal  co-operation,  and  by  the  most  whole- 
some communication  of  advantages  flowing  from 
faith,  which  worketh  by  charity,  might  mutually 
assist  each  other:  and  by  the  immense  price  of  the 
blood  of  the  Lord,  and  for  his  sake  and  virtue,  as 
also  by  the  merits  and  suffrages  of  the  saints,  might 
gain  the  remission  of  the  temporal  punishment, 
which  the  fathers  of  the  Council  of  Trent  have 
taught  is  not  always  entirely  remitted,  as  is  the  case 
in  baptism,  by  the  sacrament  of  penance. 

Let  the  earth,  therefore,   hear   the  words  of  our 

mouth,  and  let  the  whole  world  joyfully  hearken  to 

the  voice  of  the  priestly  trumpet  sounding  forth  to 

God's  people  the  sacred  Jubilee.     We  proclaim  that 

the  year  of  atonement  and  pardon,  of  redemption 

and  grace,  of  remission  and   indulgence,  is  arrived; 

in  which  we  know  that  those  benefits  which  the  old 
X 


S90 

law,  tlie  messenger  of  things  to  come,  brought  every 
fiftieth  year  to  the  Jewish  people,  are  renewed  in  a 
much  more  sacred  manner  by  the  accumulation  of 
spiritual  blessing  through  Him  by  whom  came  peace 
and  truth.  For  if  the  lands  that  had  been  sold,  and 
property  that  had  passed  into  other  hands,  were  re- 
claimed in  that  salutary  year,  so  we  recover  wow,  by 
the  infinite  liberality  of  God,  the  virtues,  and  merits, 
and  gifts,  of  which  we  are  despoiled  by  sin.  If  then 
the  chains  of  human  bondage  ceased  to  exist, — so 
at  present,  by  shaking  off  the  most  galling  yoke  of 
diabolical  subjection,  we  are  called  to  the  liberty  of 
God's  children,  to  that  liberty  which  Christ  has 
granted  us.  If,  in  fine,  by  the  precept  of  the  law, 
pecuniary  debts  were  then  pardoned  to  debtors,  and 
they  became  discharged  from  every  bond, — we  are 
also  exonerated  from  a  much  heavier  debt  of  sins, 
and  are  released  by  the  divine  mercy  from  the 
punishments  incurred  by  them. 

Eagerly  wishing  that  so  many  and  such  great  ad- 
vantages may  accrue  to  your  souls,  and  confidently 
invoking  God,  the  giver  of  all  good  gifts,  through 
the  bowels  of  his  mercy,  in  conformity  to  the  exi- 
gency of  the  prescribed  period,  and  the  pious  insti- 
tutes of  the  Roman  pontiffs,  our  predecessors,  and 
walking  in  their  footsteps, — we,  with  the  assent  of 
our  venerable  brethren,  the  cardinals  of  the  holy 
Roman  church,  do,  by  the  authority  of  Almighty 
God,  and  of  the  blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and 
by  our  own,  for  the  glory  of  God  himself,  the  exal- 
tation of  the  Catholic  church,  and  the  sanctification 


291 

of  all  Christian  people,  ordain  and  publish  the  uni- 
versal and  most  solemn  Jubilee  to  commence  in  this 
holy  city  from  the  first  vespers  of  the  Nativity  of 
our  most  holy  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  next  ensuing, 
and  to  continue  during  the  whole  year  1825;  during- 
which  year  of  the  Jubilee  we  mercifully  give  and 
grant  in  the  Lord  a  plenary  indulgence,  remission, 
and  pardon  of  all  their  sins,  to  all  the  faithful  of 
Christ  of  both  sexes,  truly  penitent  and  confessing 
their  sins,  and  receiving  the  holy  communion,  who 
shall  devoutly  visit  the  churches  of  blessed  Peter 
and  Paul,  as  also  of  St.  John  Lateran  and  St.  Mary 
Major,  of  this  city,  for  thirty  successive  or  uninter- 
rupted (whether  natural  or  ecclesiastical)  days,  to 
be  counted,  to  wil,  from  the  first  vespers  of  one  day 
until  the  evening  twilight  of  the  day  following,  pro- 
vided they  be  Romans  or  inhabitants  of  this  city; 
but  if  they  be  pilgrims  or  otherwise  strangers,  if 
they  shall  do  the  same  for  fifteen  days,  and  shall 
pour  fourth  their  pious  prayers  to  God  for  the  ex- 
altation of  the  holy  church,  the  extirpation  of  here- 
sies, concord  of  Catholic  princes,  and  the  safety  and 
tranquillity  of  christian  people. 

And  because  it  may  happen  that  some  persons 
who  shall  set  out  on  their  journey,  or  shall  arrive 
in  this  city,  may  be  detained  in  their  way,  or  even 
in  the  city  itself,  by  illness  or  other  lawful  excuse, 
or  be  prevented  by  death  from  completing  the  pre- 
scribed number  of  days,  or  perhaps  even  beginning 
them,  and  may  be  unable  to  comply  with  the  premi- 
ses, and  visit  the  said  churches,  we  will,  in  our  de- 


292 

sire  of  graciously  favouring  their  pious  and  ready 
disposition  as  far  as  we  can  in  the  Lord,  that  the 
same,  being  truly  penitent  and  confessing  their  sins, 
and  receiving  the  holy  communion,  become  par- 
takers of  the  aforesaid  indulgence  and  remission  as 
fully  as  if  they  had  actually  visited  the  said  church- 
es on  the  days  by  us  appointed;  so  that,  though 
hindered  by  the  necessities  aforesaid,  they  may,  by 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  obtain  the  effect  of  their 
desires. 

These  things  we  announce  to  you,  beloved  child- 
ren, with  a  fatherly  affection,  that  you,  who  labour 
and  are  burthened,  may  hasten  thither,  where  you 
know  for  certain  that  refreshment  awaits  you. 
Neither  is  it  allowable  to  remain  indifferent  and 
heartless  about  acquiring  these  salutary  riches  from 
the  eternal  treasures  of  divine  grace  which  the  most 
holy  and  indulgent  mother,  the  church,  throws  open 
to  you,  whilst  men  are  so  eagerly  intent  on  amass- 
ing earthly  possessions,  which  the  moth  consumes 
or  the  rust  eats  away.  And  when,  from  the  earliest 
times,  there  has  been  great  and  constant  concourse 
of  people,  of  every  station,  flocking  from  all  parts 
of  the  globe,  in  defiance  of  the  length  and  the 
dangers  of  the  journey,  to  visit  this  principal  resi- 
dence of  the  fine  arts,  which  they  admire  like  a 
brilliant  prodigy,  for  the  magnificence  of  its  build- 
ings, and  the  majesty  of  the  place,  and  the  beauty 
of  its  monuments, — it  would  indeed  be  base,  and 
most  foreign  to  the  desire  of  never-ending  happiness, 
to  pretend  the  difficulty  or  dangers  of  the  journey, 


^93 

and  similar  excuses,  to  decline  the  pilgrimage  to 
Rome.     There  is,  beloved  brethren,  there  is  in  re- 
serve   what  will  most  amply   remunerate  you  for 
every  inconvenience  and  hardship:  yes,  these  suffer- 
ings, if  any  such  occur,   are  not  fit  to  be  compared 
to  the  weight  of  glory  to  come,  which,  with  God's 
assistance,  will  be  secured  to  you  by  the  means  pre- 
pared for  the  sanctmcation  of  your  souls.     For  you 
will  here  reap  the  most  abundant  fruits  of  penance, 
by  which  you  may  offer  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  your 
bodies,  chastised  by   continued   acts  of  self-denial; 
may  religiously  perform  the  works  of  piety  pre^ 
scribed   by  the  conditions  of  the  indulgence;  and 
may  add  a  new  force  to  your  fixed  and  persevering 
resolution  to  satisfy  for  your  past  crimes  by  peni- 
tential austerities,  and  to  avoid  all  sin  for  the  time 
to  come. 

Therefore  ascend  with  loins  girt  up  to  this  holy 
Jerusalem,  this  priestly  and  royal  city,  which,  by 
the  sacred  chair  of  the  blessed   Peter,  become  the 
capital  of  the  world,  is  seen  to  maintain  more  ex- 
tensive dominion  by  the  divine  influence  of  religion 
than  by  earthly  authority.     *'For  this  is  the  city,'* 
said  St.  Charles,  exhorting  his  people  to  visit  Rome 
in  the  holy  year,  "this  is  the  city  whose  soil,  walls, 
altars,  churches,  tombs  of  the  martyrs,  and  every, 
visible   object,  suggest  something  religious  to  the 
mind,  as  they  experience  and  feel,  who  approach 
these    sacred    abodes    with   proper   dispositions." 
Consider  how  much  it  conduces  to  excite  faith  and 
charity,  to  proceed  round  those  ancient  places,  by 
X  2 


294 

which  the  majesty  of  religion  is  wonderfully  reccj^m' 
mended;  then  to  place  before  one*s  eyes  so  many 
thousand  martyrs,  who  have  consecrated  this  very 
soil  with  their  blood — to  enter  their  churches,  to 
witness  their  honours,  and  venerate  their  shrines. 
Now,  "if  heaven  is  not  so  resplendent,  when  the 
sun  darts  forth  its  rays,  as  is  the  city  of  the  Romans, 
possessing  those  two  luminaiTes,  Peter  and  Paul, 
diffusing  their  light  through  the  universe,"  as  St. 
John  Chrysostome  said,  who  will  dare,  without  the 
affection  of  the  tenderest  devotion,  to  approach  their 
CONFESSIONS,  to  prostratc  before  their  tombs,  and 
kiss  their  chains,  more  precious  than  gold  and  gems. 
Who,  in  fine,  can  refrain  from  tears,  when,  per- 
ceiving the  cradle  of  Christ,  he  shall  recollect  the 
infant  Jesus  crying  in  the  manger;  or,  saluting  the 
most  sacred  instruments  of  our  Lord's  passion,  shall 
meditate  on  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  hanging  on 
the  cross? 

Since  these  venerable  monuments  of  religion,  by 
the  singularbounty  of  divine  Providence,  are  collect- 
ed in  this  city  alone,  they  are  truly  the  sweetest 
pledges  of  love, — that  the  Lord  loveth  the  gates  of 
Sion  above  all  the  tents  of  Jacob;  and  they  affection- 
ately invite  you  all,  dearest  children,  without  delay, 
to  ascend  the  mountain,  where  it  has  pleased  the 
I^ord  to  dwell. 

But  here  our  solicitude  demands  that  we  especial- 
ly address  all  ranks  in  this  holy  city;  reminding 
them  that  the  eyes  of  the  faithful,  arriving  frona 
'every  part  of  the  world,  are  fixed  upon  them;  that, 


S95 

therefore,  nothitig  but  what  is  grave,  moderate,  and 
becoming  the  Christian,  ought  to  appear  in  them; 
so  that  all  may  seek  from  their  conduct  an  example 
of  modesty,  innocence,  and  of  every  kind  of  virtue. 
Hence,  from  this  chosen  people,  among  whom  the 
Prince  of  pastors  has  pleased  that  the  chair  of  the 
most  blessed  Peter  should  be  fixed,  let  the  rest  of 
mankind  learn  how  to  reverence  the  Catholic  church 
and  ecclesiastical  authority,  to  obey  its  precepts,  and 
always  to   render    great   honour   to   ecclesiastical 
things  and  persons. 

Let  the  respect  that  is  due  to  churches  be  con- 
spicuous in  them,  so  that  nothing  may  be  observed 
by  strangers  of  a  nature  to  bring  the  sacred  rights 
of  religion  or  holy  places  into  contempt  or  disrepute; 
nothing  that  can  offend  decency,  purity,  or  modesty; 
nothing  but  what  will  excite  admiration  and  edifica- 
tion. Let  all  be  correct  and  regular  in  their  con- 
duct; let  them  show  by  their  external  behaviour  that 
they  attend  the  duties  of  religion,  not  merely  by 
their  corporeal  presence,  but  in  the  true  spirit  of 
piety  and  devotion. 

We  also  press  on  their  attention,  not  to  appear  en- 
gaged, on  the  days  appointed  for  sacred  offices  and 
the  honour  of  God  and  his  saints,  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  feasting,  and  amusements,  and  unseasonable 
mirth,  and  wanton  licentiousness.  Tn  fine,  "whatever 
things  are  true,  whatever  are  modest,  whatever  are 
just,  whatever  are  holy,  whatever  are  lovely,  what- 
ever are  of  good  fame," — let  these  shine  forth  in 
the  Roman  people,  so  that  we  may  congratulate 


S96 

them  that  the  glory  of  faith  and  piety,  for  which 
they  were  recommended  as  an  example  by  the  apos- 
tle Paul,  and  which  have  been  transmitted  to  them 
by  their  ancestors  as  their  best  inheritance,  has 
received  no  tarnish,  but  has  even  been  illustrated 
in  their  zeal  and  edifying  conduct. 

We  are  indeed   refreshed    with    this    consoling 
hope,  that  each  one  will  be  zealous  for   the  better 
gifts,  that  the  sheep  of  the  Lord's  flock  will  run  to 
the  embraces  of  the  Shepherd,  and  that  all  will  be 
as  an  army  in  battle  array,  having  charity  for  their 
banner.     Therefore,  "Jerusalem,  lift  up  thine  eyes 
round  about,  and  see:  thy  sons  from  far  shall  come 
to  thee,  and  thy  heart  shall  wonder  and  be  enlarg- 
ed."    But  would  to  God  "that  the  children  of  them 
that   afflicted    thee   would   come   bowing  down  to 
thee,  and  all  that  slander  thee  would  worship  the 
steps    of  thy  feet."     To  you,  to   you  we   address 
ourselves  with    the   entire   affection  of  our  apos- 
tolic heart,  whom  we  bewail  as  separated  from  the 
true  church  of  Christ  and  the  road  of  salvation. — 
In  this   common   exultation,  this  alone  is  wanted: 
grant  it  to  your  most  loving  parent,  that  at  length, 
called  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  from  above 
into  his  admirable  light,  and  bursting  asunder  eve- 
ry snare  of  division,  you  may  have  one  consentient 
mind  with  this  church,  the  mother  and  mistress  of 
all  others,  out  of  which  there  is  no  salvation.     En- 
larging our  heart,  we  will  joyfully  receive  you  into 
our  fatherly  bosom,   and  will  bless  the  God  of  all 
consolation,  who,  in  this  greatest  triumph  of  Ca- 
tholic faith,  shall  enrich  us  with  these  riches  of  his 
mercy. 


1^97 

But  you,  venerable  brethren,  patriarchs,  pri- 
mates, archbishops,  bishops,  co-operate  with  these 
our  cares  and  desires;  call  a  solemn  assembly,  ga- 
ther the  people,  that  your  children  may  be  prompt- 
ed to  receive  those  gifts  which  the  Father  of  mer- 
cies has  entrusted  for  distribution  amongst  the 
children  of  his  love,  through  the  ministry  of  our 
humility;  remind  them,  that  short  are  the  days  of 
this  our  pilgrimage;  and  since  we  know  not  at  what 
hour  the  Father  of  the  household  may  come,  that 
■we  must  therefore  be  on  the  watch,  and  bear  in 
our  hands  burning  lamps  full  of  the  oil  of  charity, 
so  that  we  may  readily  and  cheerfully  meet  the 
Lord's  arrival.  To  you  it  belongs  to  explain  with 
perspicuity  the  power  of  indulgences;  what  is  their 
efficacy,  not  only  in  the  remission  of  the  canonical 
penance,  but  also  of  the  temporal  punishment  due 
to  the  divine  justice  for  past  sin;  and  what  succour 
is  afforded  out  of  this  heavenly  treasure,  from  the 
merits  of  Christ  and  his  saints,  to  such  as  have  de- 
parted real  penitents  in  God's  love,  yet  before  they 
had  duly  satisfied  by  fruits  worthy  of  penance  for 
sin  of  commission  and  omission,  and  are  now  puri- 
fying in  the  fire  of  purgatory,  that  an  entrance  may 
be  opened  for  them  into  their  eternal  country, 
where  nothing  defiled  is  admitted.  Courage  and 
attention,  venerable  brethren!  for  some  there  are, 
following  that  wisdom  which  is  not  from  God,  and 
covering  themselves  with  the  clothing  of  sheep, — 
under  the  usual  pretence  of  a  more  refined  piety, 
are  now  sowing  amongst  the  people  erroneous  com- 
ments on  this  subject.      Do  you  teach   the  flock 


S98 

their  several  duties;  in  what  deeds  of  piety  and 
charity  they  ought  to  employ  thenriselves;  with 
what  diligence,  with  what  sense  of  sorrow,  they 
ought  to  examine  themselves  and  their  past  life; 
that  they  should  remove  and  correct  what  is  per- 
nicious in  their  conduct,  so  that  they  may  obtain 
the  most  abundant  and  proper  fruit  of  this  most 
sacred  indulgence. 

But  it  becomes  you,  venerable  brethren,  princi- 
pally to  attend  to  this,  that  the  members  of  your 
respective  flocks,  who  undertake  the  pilgrimage, 
may  perform  it  with  a  religious  spirit;  that  they 
should  avoid  every  thing  on  the  journey  which  can 
disturb  their  pious  purpose,  or  withdraw  them  from 
their  holy  resolutions;  and  that  they  should  dili- 
gently follow  up  whatever  is  conducive  to  animate 
and  inflame  devotion.  If,  taking  into  consideration 
your  persons  and  places,  you  be  at  liberty  to  visit 
this  capital  of  religion,  much  splendour  will  be  re- 
flected by  your  presence  on  this  solemnity;  you  will 
accumulate  the  most  abundant  riches  of  the  divine 
mercy,  and  on  your  return  will  delightfully  share 
the  same,  as  most  valuable  treasures,  amongst  your 
people. 

Nor  can  we  doubt  but  that  all  our  dearest  chil- 
dren in  Christ,  the  Catholic  princes,  will  assist  us 
on  this  great  occasion  with  their  powerful  concur- 
rence; that  these  our  views,  so  beneficial  to  souls, 
may  have  the  desired  efl'ect.  For  this  purpose,  we 
entreat  and  exhort  them,  by  their  commendable 
zeal  for  religion,  to  second  the  ardour  of  our  vene- 
rable episcopal  brethren,  to  co-operate  diligently 


with  their  exertions,  and  to  provide  safe  conduct 
and  protection,  and  houses  of  hospitable  reception, 
along  the  roads  throughout  their  several  domin- 
ions, that  they  may  not  be  exposed  to  any  injury  in 
the  performance  of  this  most  pious  work.  They 
must  be  fully  aware  what  a  general  conspiracy  was 
formed  to  root  up  the  most  sacred  rights  of  the 
altar  and  the  throne,  and  what  wonders  the  Lord 
has  wrought,  who,  stretching  forth  his  hand,  has 
humbled  the  arrogance  of  the  strong.  Let  them 
reflect,  that  constant  and  suitable  thanks  ought  to 
be  rendered  to  the  Lord  of  lords,  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  the  victory;  that  the  succour  of  the 
divine  mercy  is  to  be  obtained  by  humble  and  fre- 
quent prayer;  and  that,  as  the  wickedness  of  the 
impious  is  still  creeping  like  a  cancer.  He  may  ac- 
complish, in  his  clemency  towards  us,  that  work 
which  he  himself  has  begun.  This,  truly,  we  had 
chiefly  in  view,  when  we  deliberated  on  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Jubilee;  well  persuaded  of  the  impor- 
tance of  such  a  sacrifice  of  praise  to  the  Lord,  iu 
this  common  consent  of  all  Christian  people,  for 
obtaining  those  heavenly  gifts,  all  the  treasures  of 
which  we  now  throw  open.  Let,  therefore,  the  Ca- 
tholic princes,  labour  for  this  purpose;  and  as  they 
are  endowed  with  great  and  generous  minds,  let 
them  protect  this  most  sacred  work  with  earnest 
zeal  and  perpetual  care.  Assuredly  they  will  learn, 
by  experience,  that  by  this  means  particularly  they 
will  secure  to  themselves  the  mercies  of  God;  and 
that  they  certainly  add  to  the  support  of  their  own 
government  by  whatever  they  do  for  the  protection 


300 

of  religion  and  the  encouragement  of  piety;  so  that 
having  destroyed  every  seed  of  vice,  a  delightful 
crop  of  virtues  may  succeed. 

But  in  order  that  all  may  prosper  to  our  wishes, 
we  entreat  your  prayers  with  God,  dear  children, 
who  are  of  the  fold  of  Christ;  for  we  contide  in  your 
common  vows  and  supplications;  which  you  put 
forth  to  the  divine  mercy,  for  the  welfare  of  the  Ca- 
tholic religion,  and  for  the  return  of  those  that  err 
to  the  truth,  and  for  the  happiness  of  princes;  and 
that  you  will  hereby  powerfully  assist  our  infirmity 
in  supporting  our  most  weighty  functions. 

And  that  these  presents  may  more  easily  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  all  the  faithful  in  every  place,  we 
will,  that  precisely  the  same  credit  be  paid  even  to 
printed  copies,  signed  nevertheless  by  the  hand  of 
some  public  notary,  and  certified  by  the  seal  of  a 
person  invested  with  ecclesiastical  dignity,  as  would 
be  paid  to  these  presents,  if  they  should  be  produc- 
ed or  shown. 

Be  it,  therefore,  utterly  unlawful  for  any  man  to 
infringe,  or  by  any  rash  attempt  to  gainsay,  this 
page  of  our  ordinance,  promulgation,  grant,  exhor- 
tation, demand,  and  will.  But  if  any  one  shall  pre- 
sume to  attempt  it,  let  him  know,  that  he  shall  in- 
cur the  indignation  of  Almighty  God,  and  of  his 
blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord's  Incarnation,   1824,  on  the  24th 
May,  in  the  first  year  of  our  Pontificate. 
A.  G.  Cardinal^  Pro-Datary, 
J.  Cardinal  jllbani. 


APPENDIX. 


Extracts  from  the  Devotion  and  office  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  with  its 
JVature^  Origin^  Progress^  £cc.  Sec.  including  the 
Devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  the  B.  V.  Mary, 
8cc.  &c.  Sec,  and  the  Recommendatory  Pastoral 
Letter  of  the  Bp.  of  Boulogne  to  the  Faithful  in  his 
Diocess.  Twelfth  Edition:  with  an  Appendix,  on 
the  Devotion  of  the  S.  H.  of  Jesus; — Prayers  for 
the  Exercise  of  that  Devotion;  and  ihe  Indult  of 
his  Holiness  P.  Pius  VH.  in  favour  of  it:  for  the 
Use  of  the  Midland  District.  London,  by  Keating 
and  Brown,  182L 


# 


*'What  is  the  corporeal  and  sensible  object  of 
this  devotion?  It  is  the  material  heart  of  the  Son 
of  God,  who  was  made  man  out  of  his  pure  love 
for  us;  it  is  the  most  noble  part  of  his  adorable  bo- 
dy; it  is  the  principal  organ  of  all  the  affections, 
and  consequently  of  all  the  virtues  of  his  blessed 

*  As  it  is  Impossible  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  con= 
tents  of  this  book  without  making  extracts  that  would  ex- 
ceed all  reasonable  limits,  I  strongly  recommend  the  peru- 
sal of  it  to  those  who  wish  to  form  a  correct  opinion  of  the 
tVue  character  of  Roman  Catholic  devotion. 
Y 


30S 

humanity;  it  is  the  seat  and  centre  wherein  corfiO' 
really  divells  all  the  plenitude  of  his  divinity^  and 
\vhich  becoming  by  virtue  of  the  hypostatical  union 
the  heart  of  the  King  of  kings,  of  the  Holy  of  holies, 
of  the  God  of  majesty,  is  raised  to  an  infinite  digni- 
ty, which  makes  it  worthy  of  our  profound  homage 
and  adoration." — Pages  10,  11. 


"In  a  small  town  called  Paroy  le  Monial,  in  the 
province  of  Burgundy,  and  diocess  of  Autun,  there 
is  a  convent  of  the  Visitation  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary.  Here  a  holy  nun  named  Mary  Margaret 
was  consecrated  to  Jesus  Christ  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty, and  lived  in  retirement  unknown.  She  died 
there  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  aged  forty,  on  the 
17th  of  October,  1690.  Her  virtues  are  attested 
by  her  superiors,  and  vve  learn  by  a  writing  she 
gave  in  obedience  to  her  director,  how  eminently 
she  was  favoured  by  Almighty  God. 

"This  holy  virgin  was  chosen  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
give  a  beginning  to  the  devotion  to  his  sacred  heart. 
To  dispose  her  to  accomplish  his  design,  he  infus- 
ed into  her  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  excellence, 
the  perfections,  and  the  sufferings  of  this  heart. — 
This  gave  her  an  ardent  desire  to  see  it  known, 
honoured,  and  glorified  by  all  creatures.  When 
she  was  thus  prepared,  Jesus  Christ  one  day  ap- 
peared to  her,  and  declared  his  intention  of  estab- 
lishing a  solemnity  in  honour  of  his  sacred  heart, 
adding  that  he  chose  her  to  be  the  instrument  of 


303 

carrying  it  into  execution.  Happy  to  find  that  the 
devotion  was  to  be  established,  she  trembled  at 
the  thought  of  being  employed  in  it.  Her  youth, 
her  natural  diffidence,  and  her  retirement  from 
creatures,  made  her  conclude  that  the  execution  of 
the  design  must  in  her  hands  be  impossible.  Un-* 
der  this  impression  she  studiously  concealed  the 
revelation.  But  God  still  urging  her  to  obey,  she 
at  length  conceived  that  she  could  no  longer  re- 
sist without  guilt.  Father  Claude  la  Colombiere, 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  coming  providentially  to 
Paroy,  she  determined  to  open  herself  fully  to  him. 
This  holy  man,  whose  eminent  sanctity  and  excel- 
lent writings  still  preserve  his  memory  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  faithful,  full  of  the  spirit  of  God,  not 
content  with  hearing  from  her  mouth  all  that  had 
passed  as  above  mentioned,  obliged  her  moreover 
to  deliver  in  writing  a  circumstantial  account  of 
the  revelation  she  had  received  and  so  long  con- 
cealed, concerning  this  devotion  to  the  sacred 
heart.  We  have  in  the  foregoing  chapter  quoted 
and  explained  it. 

"He  was  too  well  acquainted  with  the  eminent 
sanctity  of  his  penitent  to  doubt  her  sincerity,  and 
he  considered  the  concluding  injunction  as  an  or- 
der of  Jesus  Christ,  obliging  him  to  use  all  his  en- 
deavours to  promote  the  design.  But  his  absence 
from  France,  his  infirmities,  and  the  shortness  of 
his  remaining  existence,  prevented  his  making  any- 
considerable  progress  at  the  time.  But  we  shall 
soon  see  that  he  was  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of 
Providence  even  after  his  death." — Page  58,  61. 


304 

"In  1720,  when  Provence  was  afflicted  with  the 
plague,  and  saw  its  most  flourishing  cities  fall  a 
prey  to  the  scourge;  when  a  general  consternation 
pervaded  the  whole  kingdom,  God  inspiring  the 
suffering  victims  with  a  hope  of  safety  from  a  de- 
vout address  to  his  sacred  heart,  they  had  recourse 
to  it  to  appease  the  vengeance  of  offended  Heaven. 
One  town  followed  another  in  adopting  the  means 
of  delivery.  Bishops  and  magistrates  consecrated 
their  respective  people  to  the  sacred  heart,  and  en- 
gaged themselves  by  oath  to  celebrate  the  feast  an- 
nually to  the  end  of  time.  It  may  be  said  with 
truth,  that  God  employed  this  visitation  as  a  means 
to  promote  the  glory  of  his  sacred  heart,  which  was 
the  fruit  of  it.  Happy  they  who  wait  not  for  the 
scourge,  but  apply  to  this  amiable  heart  in  order  to 
prevent  the  punishment  which  their  sins  have  de- 
served!"— Pages  64,  65. 


"Objection.' — If  the  church  approves  a  feast  in 
honour  of  the  divine  heart  of  Jesus  Christ,  why  not 
approve  of  other  feasts  to  honour  every  part  of  his 
sacred  body?  Why  a  particular  feast  in  honour  of 
his  divine  heart?  Moreover,  the  feasts  are  already 
so  numerous  in  the  church,  that  it  seems  improper 
to  multiply  them;  new  offices  interrupt  those  which 
the  church  has  formerly  instituted. 

"As  this  objection  has  made  great  impression  on 
many  who  have  taken  no  pains  to  examine  it,  I  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  mention  it  in  a  separate 
article,  and  to  show  the  weakness  of  it. 


305 

"The  numerous  confraternities  who  celebrate  the 
feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart  with  great  solemnity,  the 
number  of  bishops  who  have  approved  them,  the 
number  of  briefs  of  indulgences  granted  to  them  by 
the  holy  see,  are  a  great  proof  that  the  above  ob- 
jection has  nothing  solid.  It  is  of  little  purpose  to 
dispute  whether  the  feast  of  the  sacred  heart  de- 
serves to  be  approved.  In  a  point  of  this  nature,  a 
great  part  of  the  church,  authorized  by  so  many 
bishops  and  the  holy  see,  cannot  mistake;  for  which 
reason,  the  objection  which  opposes  the  institution 
of  this  feast  can  make  no  impression  on  a  faithful 
and  devout  soul." — Pages  115,  116. 


LETTERS  PATENT  OF  AGGREGATION'. 

VVe,  Brother  Francis  of  S.  Reginald,  Prior  of  the 
venerable  Arch-confraternity  of  the  sacred  heart 
of  Jesus  at  Rome, 

To  our  beloved  in  Christ,  the  associates  in  the  sacred 
heart  of  Jesus,  the  faithful  of  either  sex,  nuho  are 
any  ways  British  subjects,  or  descended  from  them, 
wheresoever  they  dwell;  greeting  in  our  Lord. 

Whereas  his  holiness  of  pious  memory,  Clement 
the  XII.  has  by  sundry  decrees,  viz.  by  one  of  the 
7th  of  March,  1732,  another  of  the  28th  of  February, 
ditto,  and  a  third  of  the  12th  of  June,  1736,  granted 
many  favours  and  privileges  to  our  arch-confrater^ 
nity  of  the  sacred  heart;  and  among  the  rest  has  em- 
powered it  to  unite  and  associate  to  itself  any  par- 
ticular confraternity  of  the  sacred  heart,  extant  aay 
Y  2 


306 

•where  out  of  Rome,  and  to  impart  to  it  all  and  every 
indulgence,  grant,  or  release  of  the  canonical  pen- 
ance due  to  sins,  that  has  at  any  time  been  hereto- 
fore granted  to  this  our  arch-confraternity  by  his 
said  holiness. 

And  whereas  a  confraternity  of  the  sacred  heart, 
erected  in  the  church  or  domestic  chapel  of  the 
English  fathers  of  the  society  of  Jesus  at  Bruges,  has 
applied  to  us,  through  its  solicitor  in  Rome,  Signor 
Joseph  Monionelli,  in  order  to  obtain  leave  to  be 
thus  associated  to  ours,  and  to  share  in  all  its  pri- 
vileges and  grants:  we  have  thought  fit,  considering 
the  many  good  works  of  piety,  penance  and  charity 
performed  in  that  confraternity  at  Bruges,  (which 
as  to  all  essentials  is  modelled  upon  the  same  plan 
as  ours)  to  unite  and  associate  to  it  our  arch-confra- 
ternity, pursuant  to  the  power  given  us  for  this  pur- 
pose by  the  holy  see;  and  we  grant  to  it  and  its  mem.- 
bers  all  the  indulgences  and  particular  favours  men- 
tioned in  the  Popes'  briefs;  still  keeping  within  the 
terms  of  the  decree  of  Clement  VIII.  which  directs 
such  associations  and  communications  of  spiritual 
treasures. 

Moreover,  besides  the  indulgence  and  special  fa- 
vours set  down  in  the  above-mentioned  papal  grant, 
we  impart  to  the  said  confraternity  a  share  in  all 
the  masses,  prayers,  mortifications,  pilgrimages,  and 
other  good  works  performed  throughout  the  whole 
world  by  the  several  religious  orders  of  Benedictins^ 
Bernardins,  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  Carmelites,^ 
Theatins,  and  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  pur- 
suant to  the  power  we  have  received  thereunto  from 


307 

the  superiors  of  the  said  orders;  as  may  be  seen  ia 
the  authentic  deeds  belonging;  to  our  arch-confrater- 
nity, and  lodged  in  our  archives. 

For  the  proof  whereof  we  have  caused  the  pre- 
sent deed,  signed  by  our  own  hand,  to  be  underwrit- 
ten and  published  by  the  secretary  of  our  arch-con- 
fraternity, and  to  be  sealed  with  the  seal  thereof. 

Given  at  Rome,  in  the  usual  place  of  our  congre- 
gation, the  30th  of  January  1767,  in  the  9th  year  of 
his  present  holiness  Clement  the  Xlllth's  pontifi- 
cate, formerly  our  fellow  associate,  and  now  our 
most  liberal  father  and  protector. 

Br.  Francis  of  St.  Reginald^  Prior. 

Br.  Philip,  of  St.  Joseph  of  Callassajitio^  Secretary, 
Registered,  book  the  first,  page  63,  No.  38. 

THE  APPROBATION  OF  THE  BISHOP  OF  BRUGES. 

We  permit  the  publishing  of  these  letters  of  ag- 
gregation, Still  with  due  regard  to  be  paid  to  the  de- 
cree of  Clement  the  VIII.  Queecumque  a  sede  ApoS' 
?o/2ca,  and  we  approve  of  the  choice  made  by  the  as- 
sociates, of  the  Friday  after  the  Octave  of  Corpus 
Christ!^  for  the  principal  feast  of  the  association,  in 
order  to  gain  the  plenary  indulgence,  and  of  the  first 
Sunday  in  Advent,  the  second  Sunday  after  the 
Epiphany,  the  third  after  Easter,  and  the  first  Sun- 
day of  October,  to  gain  the  indulgence  of  seven 
years,  and  of  so  many  quarantines,  or  forty  days. 
Given  at  Bruges,  in  our  episcopal  Palace,  the 
20th  of  March  1767. 

By  the  order  of  his  lordship  the  bishop  of  Bruges, 

C.  Beerendrock^  Secretary. 


308 

^  petition  that  British  Subjects  might  partake  of  the 
advantages  of  this  institution^  though  remote  from 
and  unable  to  attend  in  the  chajiels  appointed  for  the 
Association. 

Holy  Father, 
The  president,  and  the  members  of  the  confrater- 
nity of  the  most  holy  heart  of  Jesus,  instituted  for 
the  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  of  both  sexes,  in  the 
ehapel  of  the  English  seminary  at  Bruges,  in  Flan- 
ders, and  associated  to  the  arch-confraternity  of  the 
same  title  erected  in  the  church  of  St.  Theodore, 
at  Rome,  prostrate  themselves  at  your  Holiness's 
feet,  and  dutifully  represent  the  signal  advantages 
arising  from  the  said  confraternity  in  the  increase 
of  spiritual  fervour  among  the  faithful,  and  desirous 
to  transmit  these  religious  fruits  to  the  latest  pos- 
terity, humbly  supplicate  your  Holiness  to  grant, 
that  the  members  of  the  said  confraternity  of  both 
sexes,  who  are  not  at  liberty  to  visit  the  aforesaid 
chapel  on  the  days  appointed  for  obtaining  the  in- 
dulgences granted  to  the  confraternity,  may  obtain 
all  and  every  one  of  them,  as  if  they  had  personally 
attended,  provided  they  perform  all  the  other  good 
works  prescribed  for  obtaining  the  said  indulgen- 
ces. 


THE  GRANT. 

At  the  audience  of  his  Holiriess^  Feb,  2od^  1768. 
Our  Holy  Father  Pope  Clement  XHI.  is  gracious- 
ly pleased  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petition,  and 


309 

enacts,  that  such  members  of  the  confraternity  as 
have  it  not  in  their  power  to  visit  the  aforesaid 
chapel  on  the  days  appointed  for  obtaining  the  in- 
dulgences granted  to  the  same,  may  have  the  benefit 
of  all  and  every  one  of  them,  provided  they  perform 
all  the  other  religious  duties  prescribed  on  that  oc- 
casion; and  his  Holiness  was  pleased  to  order,  that 
this  his  concession  should  be  at  all  times  considered 
as  valid  without  the  expedition  of  a  b^ief. 

Datedy  Rome,  from  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  holy  Congregation  of  Indulgences, 

Cardinal  Calani, 
Prefect. 
Borgia,  Secretary  of  the  sacred   Congregation  of  Lir 
dulgences, — Page  188-— 195. 


THE  devotion  TO  THE  SACRED  HEART  OF  MARY. 
SECTION    I. 

As  the  adorable  heart  of  Jesus  was  formed  in  the 
chaste  womb  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  of  her  blood 
and  substance,  so  we  cannot  in  a  more  proper  and 
agreeable  manner  show  our  devotion  to  the  sacred 
heart  of  the  Son,  than  by  dedicating  some  part  of 
the  said  devotion  to  the  ever  pure  heart  of  the 
Mother.  For  you  have  two  hearts  here  united 
in  the  most  strict  alliance  and  tender  conformity  of 
sentiments,  so  that  it  is  not  in  nature  to  please  the 
one  without  making  yourself  agreeable  to  the  other 


aio 

and  acceptable  to  both.  Go  then,  devout  client,  g€» 
to  the  heart  of  Jesus,  but  let  your  way  be  through 
the  heart  of  Mary.  The  sword  of  grief  which 
pierced  her  soul,  opens  you  a  passage:  enter  by  the 
wound  love  has  made;  advance  to  the  heart  of  Jesus, 
and  rest  there  even  to  death  itself.  Presume  not  to 
separate  and  divide  two  objects  so  intimately  one, 
or  united  together,  but  ask  redress  in  all  your  exi- 
gencies from  the  heart  of  Jesus,  and  ask  this  redress 
through  the  heart  of  Mary. 

This  form  and  method  of  worship  is  the  doctrine 
and  the  very  spirit  of  God's  church:  it  is  what  she 
teaches  us  in  the  unanimous  voice  and  practice  of 
the  faithful,  who  will  by  no  means  that  Jesus  and 
Mary  should  be  separated  from  each  other  in  our 
prayers,  praises,  and  affections.  This  considera- 
tion has  engaged  the  sovereign  pontiifs  and  head 
pastors  of  the  church  to  give  the  self-same  sanction 
to  the  pious  practices  instituted  in  honour  of  the 
sacred  heart  of  Mary,  as  they  give  to  those  of  the 
adorable  heart  of  Jesus,  both  within  their  proper 
limits.  They  both  have  equally  their  feasts  and 
solemnities,  both  their  associations,  and  those  too 
equally  enriched  with  the  treasures  of  the  church, 
under  the  liberal  dispensation  of  its  governors. 
Many  are  the  pious  and  virtuous  souls  who  haver" 
drawn  most  signal  fruit  and  advantages  from  these 
devotions. — Page  198 — 200. 


311 

A   NOVENA,    OR    NINE     DAYS'    DEVOTION    TO    THE     EVER 
BLESSED  VIRGIN. 

Having,  out  of  devotion,  lighted  up  a  wax  candle, 
either  in  your  private  oratory  or  in  the  church,  re- 
cite each  day  the  following-  prayer.  The  intent  is 
for  the  obtaining  some  particular  favour. 

"Incomparable  Virgin!  chosen  by  the  ever  ador- 
able Trinity,  from  all  eierniiy,  to  be  the  most  pure 
mother  of  Jesus,  allow  thy  servant  to  remind  thee  of 
that  ineffable  joy  thou  receivedst  in  the  instant  of 
the  most  sacred  incarnation  of  our  divine  Lord,  and 
during  the  nine  months  thou  carriedst  him  in  thy 
most  chaste  bowels.  OI  that  I  could  but  renew,  or 
if  possible  increase  this  thy  joy  by  the  fervor  of  my 
prayers;  at  least,  most  tender  Mother  of  the  afflict- 
ed! grant  me,  under  the  present  pressure,  those  ma- 
ternal consolations  and  that  peculiar  protection, 
thou  hast  promised  to  such  as  shall  devoutly  com- 
memorate this  ineffable  joy.  Relying  on  thy  sacred 
word,  and  trusting  in  thy  promises,  I  humbly  en- 
treat thee  to  obtain  from  Jesus  Christ,  thy  dearly 
beloved  Son,  my  request." 

Having  spccijied  ity  say^ 

"May  this  light  I  burn  before  thy  image,  «tand 
as  a  memorial  of  the  lively  confidence  I  repose  in 
thy  bounty.  May  it  consume  in  honour  of  that  in- 
flamed and  supernatural  love  and  joy  with  which 
thy  sacred  heart  was  replenished  during  the  abode 
of  thy  blessed  Son  in  thy  womb:  in  veneration  of 
which  I  offer  to  thee  the  senumenls  of  my  hearty 
and  the  following  salutations." 


4 


31S 

Say  nine  Hail  Marys^  a7id  then  the  folloiving  Prayers. 

"Mother  of  my  God  most  merciful  1  to  thee  I  of- 
fer these  Hail  Marys:  they  are  so  many  brilliant 
jewels  in  the  diadem  of  thy  accidental  glory,  which 
will  remain  increasing  to  the  end  of  the  world.  I 
beseech  thee,  Comforter  of  the  afflicted!  by  the  joy 
then  receivedst  in  the  nine  months  of  thy  pregnan- 
cy, to  comfort  my  afflicted  heart,  and  to  obtain  for 
me,  from  thy  Son,  a  favourable  answer  to  the  peti- 
tion I  make  to  thy  compassionate  mercy  and  bene- 
volence. To  this  effect  I  offer  to  thee  all  the  good 
works  that  have  ever  been  performed  in  the  confra- 
ternities of  thy  sacred  heart,  and  other  associations 
in  thy  honour.  I  most  humbly  entreat  thee,  on  this 
consideration,  and  for  the  love  of  the  sacred  heart 
of  Jesus,  with  which  thy  own  was  ever  so  inflamed, 
to  hear  my  humble  suit  and  grant  my  request. 
Amen:' — Page  208 — 211. 


Ah  Exam  file. 

"A  nobleman,  who  for  sixty  years  of  his  life  past 
had  never  had  access  to  the  sacraments,  and  who 
had  given  loose  to  the  passions  of  his  body  and 
mind,  and  abandoned  himself  to  the  slavery  of  his 
spiritual  enemy,  fell  sick,  and  was  in  the  utmost 
danger  of  death.  Hopes  of  salvation  he  had  none, 
and  so  desperate  was  his  case,  that  he  would  not 
give  ear  to  the  salutary  advice  of  his  director,  or 
admit  into  his  mind  the  thoughts  of  reconciling^ 


313 

himself  to  his  Creator,  by  meatis  of  the  sacratnent 
of  penance.  Nevertheless,  in  the  midst  of  the  ex- 
cesses of  so  profligate  a  life,  he  had  never  entirely 
lost  sight  of  some  small  devotion  and  regard  to  the 
ever  blessed  Mother  of  God.  Jesus  Christ,  who 
manifests  the  riches  of  his  mercy  particularly  to 
such  as  cast  a  favourable  eye. towards  her,  raised  in 
him  so  great  a  compunction  for  his  sins,  that,  enter- 
ing into  himself,  and  in  the  utmost  contrition  of  his 
heart,  he  three  several  times  in  the  same  day  made 
a  general  confession  of  his  whole  life,  received  the 
holy  eucharist,  and  the  sixth  day  after  died  in  all 
peace  and  quiet  of  mind,  and  with  the  sentiments 
of  joy  which  flow  from  a  well-grounded  confidence 
in  the  mercies  and  bounty  of  our  suffering  Redeem- 
er and  his  sacred  passion.  In  effect,  our  blessed 
Saviour  revealed,  soon  after  his  death,  to  the  holy 
St.  Bridget,  that  the  said  penitent  died  in  a  state  of 
grace,  was  a  blessed  soul,  and  owed  his  happiness 
in  great  measure  to  the  tender,  affectionate  compas- 
sion which  he  had  ever  found  and  nourished  in  his 
heart,  so  often  as  he  heard  others  speak  of  the  sa- 
cred dolours  of  our  blessed  Lady,  or  happened  to 
entertain  the  memory  of  them  in  his  mind."— Page 
234—236. 


An  Angelical  Exercise  in  Honour  of  our  Blessed  Lady, 

Whosoever  is  devoted  to  this  exercise  in  honour 

of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  in  reading  over  every 


314 

point,  may  meditate  upon  it  for  the  space  of  one 
Hail  Mary  or  more,  and  by  God's  grace,  he  will  in 
a  short  time  find  himself  greatly  increase  in  love  to- 
wards that  blessed  Queen  of  Heaven;  and  at  the  hour 
of  ^eath  will,  by  so  pious  a  mother,  be  received  as 
her  dearest  child.  Nor  can  such  a  one,  according 
to  St.  Anselm  and  St.  Bernard,  possibly  perish,  but 
shall  find  life  everlasting,  and  taste  of  the  joys  of 
fttemal  bliss.* — Page  275,  276. 


Of  Agnus  Deis. 

All  Agnus  Dei  (so  called  from  the  image  of  the 
Lamb  of  God  impressed  on  the  face  of  it)  is  made 
of  virgin  wax,  balsam,  and  chrism,  blessed  accord- 
ing to   the  form   prescribed  in   the  Roman  ritual. 

*  A  specimen  of  this  ..'Ingelical  Exercise  will  be  found  in 
Letter  VI.  It  is  a  kind  of  dialogue  between  the  Virgin  and 
hep  worshipper;  the  language  used  by  the  former  is  often 
ludicrous,  am  now  and  then  any  thing  but  delicate.  She 
always  illustrates  her  advice  by  the  example  of  saints;  and  in 
one  instance  recommends  the  caution  of  St.  Alo3sius  Gonza- 
ga,  who  "would  not  even  speak  alone  with  his  own  mother, 
for  fear  of  the  least  danger  of  offence."  "I  assure  you,"  says 
the  Virgin,  on  another  occasion,  "In  the  sincerity  of  a  mother, 
that  it  were  better  to  sleep  among  serpents,  dragons,  basi- 
lisks, and  even  the  very  devils  themselves,  than  to  rest  one 
night  in  mortal  sin."  Again,  "My  blessed  servant  Ignatius 
gave  me  one  day  power  over  his  heart,  and  I  did  render  it  so 
chaste  and  strong,  tJiat  he  never  after  felt  any  motion  of  the 
flesh  all  his  life." 


ft^.i- 


Si5 

The  spiritual  efficacy,  or   virtue  of  it,  is  gathered 
from  the  prayers  that  the  church  makes  use  of  in 
the   blessing  of  it,  which  is  to  preserve  him  who 
carries  an  Agnus  Dei,  or  any  particle  of  it,  about 
him,  from  any  attempts  of  his  spiritual  or  temporal 
enemies;  from  the  dangers  of  fire,  of  water,  of  storms 
and  tempests,  of  thunder  and  lightning,  and  from  a 
sudden  and  unprovided  death.     It  puts  the  devils  to 
{light,  succours  women  in  childbed,  takes  away  the 
stains  of  past  sins,  and  furnishes  us  with  new  grace 
for  the  fuiure,  that  we  may  be  preserved  from  all 
adversities  and  perils,  both  in  life  and  death,  through 
the  cross  and  merits  of  the   Lamb,   who   redeemed 
and  washed  us  in  his  blood. 

The  Pope  consecrates  the  Agnus  Dei's  the  first 
year  of  his  pontificate,  and  afterwards  every  seventh 
year  on  Saturday  before  Low-Sunday,  with  many 
solemn  ceremonies  and  devout  prayers.  Franc. 
Cost.  Lib.  4.  Christian  Institut.  ca/i.  12. 

The  use  of  the  Agnus  Dei  is  so  ancient,  that  it  is 
now  above  960  years  since  Pope  Leo,  the  third  of 
that  name,  made  a  present  of  one  to  the  emperor 
Charles  the  Great,  who  received  it  from  the  hands 
of  his  Holiness,  as  a  treasure  sent  him  from  heaven, 
and  reverenced  it  with  a  singular  piety  and  devotion^ 
as  it  is  recounted  in  the  book  intituled,  Registr. 
Sum.  ro7Uif.'^Fdi^e  375—377, 


THE  END, 


1 


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